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NEWTOWN SQUARE – Kurt Kitayama had a simple explanation for why he shot a 7-under 63 Sunday and matched the lowest score in the final round of a major championship.
“The putter god,” Kitayama said. “I felt like I was holding the world out there. What my eye saw, that’s what the ball was doing. That’s a good feeling. The putter kind of carried me today.”
The 33-year-old Californian made seven birdies without a bogey and finished with a 72-hole total of 3-under 277 at the PGA Championship, but not low enough to win.
He needed just 28 putts on Aronmink Golf Club greens that some called “diabolical.”
“I think the greens are so undulating and difficult to read,” Kitayama said. “The putter is really important out here. You can kind of get it up around the green sometimes.
“Or if you’re in the rough, you’re handcuffed and you get on the green, you’re probably left with a long putt. That’s going to be really tricky. That’s going to be the big thing.”
Kitayama became the ninth golfer to shoot a 63 in the final round of a major and the second to do it at the PGA, joining Brad Faxon, who did it in 1995 at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Kitayama scored well in three of the tournament’s four rounds, opening with a 70 and 69 before sputtering to a 75 Saturday.
“It’s kind of what it is,” he said. “It was just a hard fight (Saturday). I felt like I got bad breaks. Today I felt like I got all the good breaks. At the end of the day, I feel like it evens out.
“It’s tough out here, so that round was, you know, it happens easily.”
Kitayama said he has no regrets that his round Saturday might have kept him from winning his first major title.
“The first two days I felt like I grinded,” he said. “I was happy where I was. I thought I was going to be able to put myself in a good position coming into today, but it just didn’t happen.
“But to come out today after yesterday’s round and have a round like that, it feels great.”
Scheffler, McIlroy fall short: Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the top two ranked players in the world, fell short in their bid for another major title Sunday.
Scheffler began the day five strokes behind third-round leader Alex Smalley and shot a final-round 69 and finished in the top 15.
McIlroy was three strokes off the pace when the final round began, but he couldn’t mount a charge because he missed several fairways. He finished in the top 10.
Scheffler and McIlroy had won four of the previous five majors, Scheffler taking the 2025 PGA and British Open and McIlroy the last two Masters.
Harrington’s late run: Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington ended the PGA Championship with a flurry, chipping in for an eagle on the par-5 16th hole and birdieing No. 18.
He had a final-round 69 and finished with a 72-hole total of 1-under 279.
The 54-year-old Harrington joined Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen as the only golfers 54 years or older to finish in the top 20 at a PGA Championship.
Snead did it five times, the last in 1974 when he tied for third as a 62-year-old.
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“The putter god,” Kitayama said. “I felt like I was holding the world out there. What my eye saw, that’s what the ball was doing. That’s a good feeling. The putter kind of carried me today.”
The 33-year-old Californian made seven birdies without a bogey and finished with a 72-hole total of 3-under 277 at the PGA Championship, but not low enough to win.
He needed just 28 putts on Aronmink Golf Club greens that some called “diabolical.”
“I think the greens are so undulating and difficult to read,” Kitayama said. “The putter is really important out here. You can kind of get it up around the green sometimes.
“Or if you’re in the rough, you’re handcuffed and you get on the green, you’re probably left with a long putt. That’s going to be really tricky. That’s going to be the big thing.”
Kitayama became the ninth golfer to shoot a 63 in the final round of a major and the second to do it at the PGA, joining Brad Faxon, who did it in 1995 at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Kitayama scored well in three of the tournament’s four rounds, opening with a 70 and 69 before sputtering to a 75 Saturday.
“It’s kind of what it is,” he said. “It was just a hard fight (Saturday). I felt like I got bad breaks. Today I felt like I got all the good breaks. At the end of the day, I feel like it evens out.
“It’s tough out here, so that round was, you know, it happens easily.”
Kitayama said he has no regrets that his round Saturday might have kept him from winning his first major title.
“The first two days I felt like I grinded,” he said. “I was happy where I was. I thought I was going to be able to put myself in a good position coming into today, but it just didn’t happen.
“But to come out today after yesterday’s round and have a round like that, it feels great.”
Scheffler, McIlroy fall short: Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the top two ranked players in the world, fell short in their bid for another major title Sunday.
Scheffler began the day five strokes behind third-round leader Alex Smalley and shot a final-round 69 and finished in the top 15.
McIlroy was three strokes off the pace when the final round began, but he couldn’t mount a charge because he missed several fairways. He finished in the top 10.
Scheffler and McIlroy had won four of the previous five majors, Scheffler taking the 2025 PGA and British Open and McIlroy the last two Masters.
Harrington’s late run: Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington ended the PGA Championship with a flurry, chipping in for an eagle on the par-5 16th hole and birdieing No. 18.
He had a final-round 69 and finished with a 72-hole total of 1-under 279.
The 54-year-old Harrington joined Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen as the only golfers 54 years or older to finish in the top 20 at a PGA Championship.
Snead did it five times, the last in 1974 when he tied for third as a 62-year-old.
Continue reading...
