Kurt Kitayama wins 3M Open, beating Sam Stevens by 1 for his 2nd PGA Tour victory
Kitayama, who shot a career-best and tournament-record-tying 60 on Saturday to enter the final round within one of the leaders, birdied six of the first eight holes to build a cushion on a 91-degree afternoon at the TPC Twin Cities.
'Getting off to a start like that kind of helps settle you down,' Kitayama said. 'Final round, second-to-last group, there's definitely some nerves.'
Kitayama took bogey on the par-3 17th hole for the third straight day, which shrunk his lead to one while playing in the second-to-last group. Stevens was one group ahead and failed to birdie the reachable par-5 18th.
After hitting his approach on the closing hole into a greenside bunker, Kitayama safely blasted to 18 feet and easily two-putted for par, finishing at 23-under 261 with his older brother, Daniel, caddying for only the second time this season.
'He helped me stay calm out there, make good decisions,' Kitayama said. 'It just helps having family on the bag.'
Matt Wallace, David Lipsky, Pierceson Coody and Jake Knapp tied for third, three strokes back.
Kitayama, who previously won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in 2023 , got a 500-point boost in the FedEx Cup standings to move inside the top 70 and secure a spot in the playoffs. He was projected to jump from 110th to 53rd.
Kitayama, who tied for sixth at the 3M Open last year, has missed seven cuts this season. He tied for fifth twice, at the John Deere Classic and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. This win was projected to bump his world ranking from 97th to 39th.
The 32-year-old native of Chico, California, had his approach game in prime form. He hit a 7-iron from a fairway bunker on the par-4 14th from a fairway bunker within 2 feet of the hole for the last of his 20 birdies on the weekend, the most in a PGA Tour event since 2003.
Stevens made five birdies on the back nine, continuing his strong season that includes three top-three finishes. He was second at the Farmers Insurance Open. The 29-year-old native of Fort Worth, Texas, is still seeking his first win, but this finish pushes him from 44th to 29th in the FedEx Cup with one event left in the regular season.
'With Kurt shooting 29 on the front nine, it's like, well, I'm six or seven back, whatever it was at the time. I can just play as freely and as aggressively as I want to,' Stevens said. 'I really didn't feel that many nerves on the back nine, which is good. Normally I get very nervous, so I had a lot of peace out there today.'
Knapp, playing with Stevens, was in contention until his second shot on the 18th splashed into the water, leading to his only bogey of the day in his third top-five finish this year.
Akshay Bhatia and Thorbjorn Olesen were the co-leaders going into Sunday, but the final pairing had a disappointing finish. Bhatia shot 75 and tied for 25th, and Olesen shot 73 to fall to a six-way tie for 14th that included first-round leader Adam Svensson.
Svensson, whose 60 on Thursday was matched two days later by Kitayama, bounced back from a 75 on Friday with a 68-65 weekend.
Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas had his best round of the tournament (67) and finished in a tie for 44th at 11-under.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
3 minutes ago
- New York Times
Topps ‘stands by' authenticity of Lionel Messi autographs, will replace all that PSA won't grade
Topps still vouches for the authenticity of Lionel Messi autographs on cards in their products, Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan told The Athletic during a wide-ranging interview at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Ill. Mahan also said that Topps, which is owned by Fanatics, will replace any of its autographed Messi cards that PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) refuses to authenticate during the card grading process. Advertisement It's the first time the sports card giant addressed the discrepancy publicly since PSA has refused to authenticate numerous autographed Messi cards pulled from packs or boxes of Topps products in the past several months. 'We stand by the authenticity of the autograph,' Mahan said. 'That being said, if PSA is not grading it, we understand that's a problem for collectors. Therefore, it's a problem for us. So we're replacing them. I would say if PSA won't grade it, then come to us and we'll deal with it in the right way. It's that simple. 'Look, we care about the collector. We care about the collecting experience. That means if there's an issue that in this case was unforeseen, come to us and we will deal with it.' Over the past few months, PSA has declined to authenticate Messi autograph cards from at least the following Topps sets: 2022-23 Topps Dynasty UEFA Champions League, 2024 Topps Chrome Sapphire MLS, 2024 Topps Chrome MLS, 2024 Topps Finest MLS, and 2021-22 Topps Finest Flashbacks UEFA Champions League. When asked about the Messi autograph issue at The National, PSA president Ryan Hoge said, 'We defer to them (Topps) on a lot of that. That's their world. We work closely with them. When we have questions or concerns about anything that we see coming directly from a manufacturer, we work with all manufacturers.' As The Athletic previously reported, Nick Bruce of Ferndale, Mich. said a PSA representative told him in February that the autograph on his 2021-22 Topps Finest Flashbacks UEFA Champions League Football's Finest card was 'fake,' and potentially signed by Messi's brother. PSA has seemed to soften its stance since when explaining to customers why it's not authenticating certain Messi autograph cards, telling multiple card owners, 'To be perfectly clear, our authentication team is not stating that the autograph is a forgery; they are simply not comfortable rendering an opinion on this particular signature style. In rare cases such as these where our team opts to refrain from issuing an opinion, PSA will return the item unprocessed at no charge to the customer.' Advertisement Mike Denis of Salem, N.H., ran into a similar issue in early May, when PSA wouldn't authenticate a Messi autograph on a 2024 Topps Finest MLS card. In that instance, a Topps representative pushed the blame to PSA. In the transcript of an online chat between Topps and Denis viewed by The Athletic, the card company's rep said, 'Recently Messi has changed the style of his autograph, which it seems PSA has not updated their standards.' The issue that occurred for David Rodriguez of Clarksville, Ind. involving his Messi autographed card from Topps Dynasty — arguably the company's premier set — brought this issue to the forefront for many within the hobby. Rodriguez said he spent $1,200 at his local card shop on a box of 2022-23 Topps Dynasty UEFA Champions League, which contains just one card, in August 2024. He opened the box to find a redemption card — an 'IOU' where the owner submits the code to receive an autographed card from the manufacturer at a later date, once the athlete in question has signed — for a Messi patch autograph card. Rodriguez's card carried a minimum estimated value of $4,000. It was the most valuable card he's ever pulled from a pack or box, he said, and he immediately redeemed the card through the Topps website. After four months of waiting, Rodriguez said he spoke to someone from Topps who told him Messi would have a private signing for Dynasty cards and other Topps products. Rodriguez received the card (pictured above) in late January and sent it to PSA. In early February, the grading company alerted Rodriguez it couldn't authenticate the autograph and encouraged him to reach out to Topps. In early March, Topps offered a similar deal to Rodriguez as it had in late February to Bruce. The company would either remake the card with a new autograph to then be shipped to PSA for grading and authentication, or offer a substitution of equal or greater value. The timeframes for a possible remake varied significantly in the cases of Rodriguez and Bruce. Advertisement Bruce's 2021-22 Topps Finest Flashbacks Messi card sported an autograph on a sticker that was affixed to the card. Players often sign sheets of stickers totaling several thousand autographs in a given session, allowing card companies to place the autographed sticker on specific cards at a later date. But Messi would have to sign Rodriguez's card itself, since Dynasty bears on-card autographs. Topps explained in an email to Rodriguez that this 'very lengthy' process could take anywhere from six months to two years. Rodriguez accepted Topps' alternative offer of a card or cards of equal or greater value, assuming the wait time for a Messi replacement would be closer to two years. Topps sent Rodriguez two autographed rookie cards: one of Lamine Yamal and the other of Shohei Ohtani. After grading, the two cards are worth an estimated $6,000, which is nearly $2,000 more than the last sale of the questioned Messi Dynasty card. Mahan said during The National that Topps has been more able to offer replacement Messi autographed cards at this point rather than alternative offers like they had when the issue first arose. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission.
Associated Press
3 minutes ago
- Associated Press
MLB contenders watch for fatigue as some starters experience an increased workload
CHICAGO (AP) — At age 34, Matthew Boyd is going back to what was once familiar territory for the left-hander. He has logged 130 2/3 innings so far in his first season with the Chicago Cubs, more than he totaled in the previous two years combined. It's a workload jump that goes against what had become conventional wisdom in the majors, where teams have frequently capped pitchers' innings in hopes of keeping them healthy. 'Things have been going great,' Boyd said. 'And I think it's like none of us know what's ahead. And that goes for everybody.' Boyd's workload is worth watching as the Cubs try to rally in the NL Central race and go on a deep October run. He is among a group of pitchers going through a spike in innings in the heart of the playoff picture. After spending most of his career as a reliever, Clay Holmes has 117 1/3 innings going into his 23rd start for the Mets on Tuesday night. Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo is up to 127 innings after he finished with 66 2/3 last year. All-Stars Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox and Bryan Woo of the Mariners also are progressing toward major increases. 'That's something we always monitor and watch,' Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. 'I know we're in constant communication in-between starts.' The days of predetermined innings limits, especially when it comes to young prospects and pitchers on losing teams, aren't going away anytime soon. But more organizations appear to be going with a case-by-case approach. 'I think the reason why it's changed a little bit and we don't look at that either percentage increase or fixed innings increase is because it wasn't working,' said David Stearns, the president of baseball operations for the Mets. 'I think more and more we're trying to treat each pitcher as an individual. And if a pitcher feels good both subjectively and objectively, we try not to artificially shut them down.' Crochet, 26, helped show what might be possible last year. The 6-foot-6 left-hander, who had Tommy John surgery in April 2022, began last season with 73 innings in 72 appearances spanning four seasons with the White Sox. He made his first big league start on opening day. With the White Sox closely monitoring his workload in the last part of the season, he finished with 32 starts and 146 innings. He is tied for the major league lead with 141 1/3 innings going into Tuesday night's start against Kansas City. 'I think that I really set myself up for this season to go out there and for there really to be no leash necessary,' said Crochet, who was traded to the Red Sox in December and then agreed to a $170 million, six-year contract. 'I've been feeling really good throughout the season and the five days in between my starts I really feel like I'm prepared and doing a lot to get my body in the right position to have success and to continue to give length throughout the year.' Boyd was recovering from Tommy John surgery when he signed with Cleveland last year. He returned to the majors last August and went 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts and 39 2/3 innings for the Guardians. He also pitched 11 2/3 innings for the AL Central champions in the playoffs. That was enough for Chicago to give Boyd a $29 million, two-year contract in free agency. And he has delivered so far, making the NL All-Star team while going 11-4 with a 2.34 ERA in 22 starts. Boyd pitched a career-high 185 1/3 innings for Detroit in 2019, but he hasn't approached that territory since. The Cubs gave him nine days off between starts over the All-Star break, and Boyd has frequent conversations with manager Craig Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy about his workload and how he is feeling. The Cubs also have rookie right-hander Cade Horton, who is up to 102 2/3 innings this season — including his time with Triple-A Iowa — after he totaled 34 1/3 innings in the minors last year. 'This is an area where the industry has not maybe figured out the answer, so you're just trying to keep getting better answers,' Counsell said. 'I think in the past, we were just relying on history. I think now we're relying on the data we collect from the actual player.' Communication is one thing, but an array of metrics and biomechanical analysis is at the center of the decision-making process when it comes to pitchers and rest. 'There's tangible things that you just keep an eye on,' Boyd said. 'You have your spin data, you have your velocity. We have biomechanics tracking. It's like, 'Hey, the mechanics are getting out of whack. ... Is there something we need to address? How do you address that?' 'There's so many different avenues you can go down and levers you can pull if you will. And it's not as cut and dry as like 20% increase, 50% increase (in innings).' ___ AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York and AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin in Seattle contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB:
Washington Post
3 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Trump is creating a task force for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is establishing a task force on the 2028 Olympic Games being held in Los Angeles. Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday to make the task force official, the White House said. Trump has said that the Los Angeles Summer Games are among the events he's most looking forward to in his second term. The 2028 Games will be the first Olympics to be hosted by the U.S. since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
