Few players have been better off the tee than Kurt Kitayama has been this season. After his win at the 3M Open Sunday, the 32-year-old pro ranks 12th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, although it was a different part of his game that helped him to a monster weekend at TPC Twin Cities.
Kitayama shot a career-best 11-under 60 on Saturday, which tied the course record Adam Svensson set on Thursday. He followed that up with a six-under 65 on Sunday to beat Sam Stevens by one and claim the second win of his career.
Kitayama’s 20 weekend birdies were the most by a PGA Tour winner in over two decades, and a lot of those were set up by some remarkable approach play. Kitayama led the field in SG: Approach the Green on both Saturday and Sunday, gaining eight strokes on the field in the final two rounds. He hit 16 of 18 greens both days.
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“I just think I was in control of my irons, especially getting off to that start today; my wedges got me into those positions,” Kitayama said afterwards. “I hit them tight. Kind of trusted that early on and took advantage of the shorter holes with the wedges. You know, you don’t expect to come out like that after shooting 11 under, and to come out like that was special.”
Kitayama has Titleist wedges in his bag — Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F) and Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*) — and they helped him jump from 110th to 53rd in the FedEx Cup standings. He’s now into next week’s FedEx Cup Playoffs and has a chance to make the Tour Championship for the first time in his career.
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