17 Things You Didn't Know About Kurt Kitayama

17 Things You Didn't Know About Kurt Kitayama

1. He was born in Chico in Northern California.

2. He now lives in Henderson, Nevada.

3. He started playing golf at the age of 5 with a family friend and his older brother Daniel.

4. His mother is Japanese.

5. His passion growing up was basketball.

6. He graduated in Finance from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 2015, the same college that the likes of Adam Scott, Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman, Chad Campbell and David Lipsky attended.

7. He turned professional in 2015 and won his first pro title on the Asian Development Tour at the 2018 PGM Darulaman Championship in Malaysia.

8. He earned his 2018-19 DP World Tour card after playing in all three Q-School stages. He won the first stage at Golf d'Hardelot, which was his first time in Europe.

9. He won the Mauritius Open in December 2018 in just his third start on the European Tour (now DP World Tour).

10. He became the fastest player to win twice on the DP World Tour, with victory at the 2018 Mauritius Open and 2019 Oman Open in just 11 starts.

11. He played on the Web.com Tour in 2017 and the Asian Tour in 2018 in just 11 starts.

12. He left the Asian Tour to come to Europe after advice from fellow American and good friend David Lipsky.

13. According to the DP World Tour, he eats candy the night before every round as a superstition.

14. He lists "Billy Madison" as one of his favorite movies.

15. After turning pro he traveled all over the world, playing on tours in China, Asia, Japan, South Africa, and Australia.

16. He made a hole-in-one and albatross on the par-4 16th at Southern Highlands Collegiate Golf Club in 2014.

17. According to his PGA Tour profile he would trade places with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for a day because "he is a very successful man and an incredibly hard worker."