Kurt Kitayama

Exempt status

• PGA TOUR: Top 50 from 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour (thru 2021-22)

JOINED TOUR

• Korn Ferry Tour: 2016
• PGA TOUR: 2022

International Victories (3)

• 2018 PGM Darulaman Championship
• 2018 Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita
• 2019 Oman Open

Personal

• Attended Chico High School in Chico, Calif.
• Older brother, Daniel, played golf two years at Hawaii-Hilo.
• First hole-in-one was on a par 4, the 16th hole at Southern Highlands GC in Las Vegas.
• Lists "Entourage" and "Billy Madison" as his favorite movies.
• Not many people know that he played basketball in high school.
• Would trade places with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for a day because "he is a very successful man and an incredibly hard worker."

Special Interests

• Basketball, playing video games

CURRENT YEAR HIGHLIGHTS

• The Honda Classic: Finished solo-third at The Honda Classic, his first career top-10 on the PGA TOUR. Held a one-stroke lead after the first round, his first career lead/co-lead after any round on TOUR.

Career Highlights

2022 Season

• The Honda Classic: Finished solo-third at The Honda Classic, his first career top-10 on the PGA TOUR. Held a one-stroke lead after the first round, his first career lead/co-lead after any round on TOUR.

2021 Season

Earned enough non-member FedExCup points in the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season to play the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where he opened with a T32 and closed with a T11 as he finished No. 23 among The Finals 25 and earned his first PGA TOUR card.

• Made in HimmerLand: In HimmerLand, Farso, Denmark, opened with an even-par 71 then was 13-under the rest of the way (68-64-68) to T8 with three others in late-May.
• Magical Kenya Open: Began the Nairobi tournament with a 4-under 67 then rattled off three consecutive 66s only to finish alone in second, two shots behind winner Justin Harding at Karen CC.
• Commercial Bank Qatar Masters: Only a third-round, 4-over 75 kept him from contending at Education City GC, Doha, Qatar. Finished at 3-under and T9 with Thomas Detry, Joachim Hansen and Niklas Lemke, five strokes shy of winner Antoine Rozner.

2019 Season

• Oman Open: Earned his second European Tour title in his rookie season. Following his maiden victory at the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita, won again, giving him two wins in his first 11 starts. Birdied two of his last three holes and finished with a total of 7-under 281 at Al Mouj Golf for a one-shot victory.

2018 Season

Played in 20 tournaments worldwide on seven different Tours. Posted three top-fives, with two coming on the Asian Tour and one on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

• Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Anahita: Claimed his first European Tour title in just his third European Tour start. Began the final round tied for the lead and carded a closing, 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory over Mattieu Pavon and Seenappa Chikkarangappa.
• Final Qualifying Stage, Lumine: At Lumine GC in Tarragona, Spain, finished at 23-under during the six-round tournament to finish fourth and earn 2018 DP World Tour membership for the first time.
• Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Golf: Finished T4 with four others in his lone Japan Golf Tour start of the campaign, eight shots behind runaway winner Yuta Ikeda.
• Royal Cup: Fired back-to-back 67s at the Phoenix Gold G&CC in Thailand to finish T2 with Shiv Kapur and Jake McLeod, six shots behind winner Justin Harding.
• IPS Handa New Zealand Open: Turned in scores of 68-65-66-65 at Millbrook Resort and The Hills to finish T4 with David Brandson and Callan O'Reilly in Queenstown, six strokes behind winner Daniel Nisbet.
• China QT #1-Mission Hills Resort: Earned PGA TOUR Series-China membership by finishing T11 with New Zealand's Luke Toomey in Haikou, China.

2016 Season

Finished the Korn Ferry Tour season with nine starts and two made cuts. Was 153rd on the Regular Season money list.

• Air Capital Classic presented by Aetna: Recorded a career-best T13 in his first Korn Ferry Tour start at the Air Capital Classic presented by Aetna in June.

Amateur Highlights

• Finished T3 at the 2009 Callaway Junior World Golf Championships against an outstanding international field on a U.S. Open venue, Torrey Pines (South Course).
• Was the Northern California Player of the Year for JGANC in 2009 and was on the Junior America's Cup team in 2009 and 2010.
• He was also on the Hogan Cup team those years.
• Named to the Acacemic All-MW team three consecutive years at UNLV.
• Recorded three top 10s and a top-5 finish as a sophomore in 2012-13.
• Earned his first career individual title as a junior at the Jackrabbit Invitational, with a team-season-low 54-hole total of 7-under 209.
• Led the team in scoring average with 72.59.
• Earned All-Mountain West and PING All-West Region honors.

Q SCHOOL GRADUATE

• PGA TOUR China: 2018