Kurt Kitayama Holds Off Sam Stevens Charge To Win 3M Open For Second PGA Tour Title

Kurt Kitayama is the new 3M Open champion after he carded a final round of 65 at TPC Twin Cities to hold off the challenge of Sam Stevens.

Kitayama, whose one previous PGA Tour win came at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational, entered the final round with plenty of momentum.

He tied the course record on Saturday with a brilliant 60 to haul himself into contention, moving to 17 under, just one back of overnight leaders Akshay Bhatia and Thorbjorn Olesen.

However, neither of the two co-leaders was in the reckoning for the title on Sunday, with Olesen placing T14 after a round of 73 and Bhatia faring even worse, finishing T25 after his 75.

Instead, the stage was set for Kitayama to build on his remarkable round the previous day.

He set about the task with understandable confidence, going three under for the round through three courtesy of a chip-in.

After six holes, he was five under for the round following further birdies at the fifth and sixth and by the turn, a sub-60 round was looking distinctly possible as another birdie at the eighth took him to six under for the day with a front nine 29.

Jake Knapp, in the group ahead of Kitayama, was also plugging away after beginning his round at 17 under, too. He was four under for the round after 12 holes to remain in touch with the leader.

However, after a bogey at the 11^th, Kitayama recovered with birdies at the 12^th and 14^th to lead by three, with Knapp’s challenge beginning to falter thanks to a succession of pars frustrating the American.

Instead, Sam Stevens, another who started the day on 17 under and paired with Knapp, began to challenge the leader, helped hugely by three successive birdies between the 14^th and 16^th. The last of those moved him into second, just two behind Kitayama to keep things interesting.

A par then followed for Stevens at the 17^th before, further back, the lead became just one when Kitayama bogeyed the same hole.

Stevens then came close to a birdie at the par-5 18^th with a beautifully judged chip from 66 feet that missed by just 15 inches, meaning he headed to the clubhouse still one behind.

That left Kitayama just needing par at the 18th to seal the victory. There was some drama when he sent his approach into a greenside bunker on a downslope, but with three shots to find the hole, he needn’t have been unduly concerned - and at least he avoided the lake his shot needed to carry.

He kept his nerve from the bunker to leave his ball 17 feet from the hole and with the title as good as his.

His first putt missed left, but it left a tap-in for par. He completed the formalities, and the title was his.

Kitayama took the title with his brother, Daniel, as his caddie. Afterwards, he admitted that made the win even more memorable.

He said: "This win's going to be extra special having him on the bag. Very cool experience and really happy he's part of it."

He added: "He helped me stay calm out there, make good decisions, and yeah, just helps having family on the bag."