We all love to watch the greats of the game, but there’s something special about an underdog coming out on top to beat an experienced field…

It was a dramatic end to the Arnold Palmer Invitational this weekend as Kurt Kitayama overcame competition with tour veterans to claim his first PGA event win. It may not be the year’s biggest tournament, but the late Arnold Palmer’s idyllic Orlando golf course is undoubtedly on many a golfer’s bucket list.

Kitayama was leading the tournament on the final day at 11 under with 9 holes to play, the likes of Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy close behind him. He took a bad tee shot on the 9^th, resulting in him scoring a triple bogey on that hole to bring him to 8 under par. Going into the back 9, Spieth was leading on 10 under. However, the pressure got to him in the final handful of holes. He scored bogeys on 14, 15, and 17 to finish on 7 under.

While Kitayama was holding his ground at 8 under, making par on every hole from 10 to 16, Rory was 7 under after the 12^th hole. He then made birdies on 12 and 13 only to bogey 14 and 15. A subsequent birdie on 16 moved him to 8 under par. Both McIlroy and Kitayama were tied for the lead alongside Harris English with two holes to play.

Not buckling under the weight of having his first win within his grasp, Kitayama made a fantastic birdie on the par 3 17^th hole to climb ahead of the competition, and with English and McIlroy scoring pars on 17 and 18, Kitayama secured his place as the winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational for 2023.

Getting his first tour win at Bay Hill clearly meant a lot to the American “It’s pretty amazing, and you know, just to get your first win I think is an unbelievable thing. I’m lucky enough to have had it at a very special place.”

With such exciting golf concluding in Orlando, we’ve no doubt that the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass this week will produce some spectacular scenes.