The China Mail - Putter powers sizzling Kitayama to record 63 at PGA

The 33-year-old American birdied the first three holes, five in all on the front nine, and closed with a 12-foot birdie putt to equal the record with the week's lowest round over the sloped greens, finishing 72 holes on three-under 277.

"It was one of those rounds for me that the putter clicked. I was just rolling it. It was just lights out for me," Kitayama said.

"The putter kind of carried me. What my eye saw, that's what the ball was doing, and that's a good feeling."

Off in the day's fourth pairing, Kitayama sank a 32-foot birdie putt at the first hole, an 18-footer at the second and an eight-footer at the third, then added a 14-footer for birdie at the sixth and a four-footer to birdie the par-five ninth.

He also blasted out of a bunker to 13 feet and made the birdie putt at the 13th.

"The greens are so undulating and difficult to read. I think you're seeing most three-putts in a lot of the majors," Kitayama said.

"The putter is really important out here. You can get it up around the green sometimes, or, if you're in the rough and 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, whose best major finish was a share of fourth in the 2023 PGA, said he will not wonder where he might have been had he not fired a 75 on Saturday.

"Not really. It happened. It played tough," Kitayama said. "It was just a hard fight yesterday that felt like I got bad breaks, and today I felt like I got all the good breaks.

"At the end of the day, I feel like it evens out. And it's just tough out here so that round yesterday happens easily."

Kitayama, whose PGA Tour titles include the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational and 2025 3M Open, opened with a 70 and added a 69 on Friday.

"First two days I felt like I grinded and I was happy where I was with that, one-under, and thought I was going to be able to put myself in a good position coming into today, but it just didn't happen," he said.

"But to come out after yesterday's round and have a round like that feels great."

Brisk winds had died down for the final round.

"Just felt so much easier when the wind was down, and made it a little easier to score," Kitayama said. "Where the pins were, you had to play wind on your putts, and that makes it so difficult.

"Today you could just read it and didn't have to worry about any wind affecting it."

M.Zhou--ThChM