Kurt Kitayama wins 3M Open, beating Sam Stevens by 1 for his 2nd PGA Tour victory
BLAINE Minn AP Kurt Kitayama finished a sizzling weekend with a final-round to win the M Open on Sunday beating Sam Stevens by one stroke for his second PGA Tour win Kitayama who shot a career-best and tournament-record-tying 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 -degree afternoon at the TPC Twin Cities Kitayama took bogey on the par- th 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- th After hitting his approach on the closing hole into a greenside bunker Kitayama safely blasted to feet and easily two-putted for par finishing at -under 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 got a -point boost in the FedEx Cup standings to move inside the top and secure a spot in the playoffs He was projected to jump from th to rd Kitayama who tied for sixth at the M 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 The -year-old native of Chico California had his approach meeting in prime form He hit his second shot on the par- th from a fairway bunker within feet of the hole for the last of his birdies on the weekend 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 -year-old native of Fort Worth Texas is still seeking his first win but this finish pushes him from th to th in the FedEx Cup with one event left in the regular season Akshay Bhatia and Thorbjorn Olesen were the co-leaders going into Sunday but the final pairing had a disappointing finish Bhatia shot and tied for th and Olesen shot to fall to a tie for th AP golf https apnews com hub golf Source
