Kurt Kitayama Wins the 3M Open, Holding Off Sam Stevens by One

Kurt Kitayama spent Friday night eight shots behind and wondering where his swing went. By Sunday evening he was holding the 3M Open trophy with his brother on the bag.

Kitayama shot a 6-under 65 in the final round at TPC Twin Cities to finish at 23-under 261 and win by one over Sam Stevens, who closed with 66. Matt Wallace, David Lipsky, Pierceson Coody and Jake Knapp tied for third at 20 under. It is Kitayama's second PGA TOUR title, after the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational, per the PGA TOUR's final-round recap (opens in a new tab).

A Start That Ended the Suspense

Kitayama began the day one back of 54-hole co-leaders Akshay Bhatia and Thorbjørn Olesen, and he did not wait around. He birdied the first two holes, chipped in at the third and went on to birdie six of his first eight. He turned in 29 on a 91-degree afternoon, per the AP, and by then the tournament had a new owner.

"Getting off to a start like that kind of helps settle you down," Kitayama said, per the PGA TOUR.

Ahead of him on the course, the final pairing came apart. Bhatia bogeyed three of his first four holes and shot 75 to slide into a tie for 25th, according to GOLF.com. Olesen managed just two birdies, shot 73 and finished in a six-way tie for 14th, still searching for that first PGA TOUR win.

The Shot of the Week

The swing that will live in Kitayama's highlight reel came at the par-4 14th. Already up two, he found a fairway bunker off the tee, then hit a 7-iron from about 190 yards to within 2 feet. The birdie pushed his lead to three.

"That was a very big shot," Kitayama said, per GOLF.com.

He needed every bit of that cushion.

Stevens Makes It Interesting

Sam Stevens was the one player who refused to go away. Playing one group ahead, Stevens made five birdies on the back nine and posted 22 under in the clubhouse, per the AP. The only frustration was the reachable par-5 18th, where the birdie that would have forced the issue never came.

"I really didn't feel that many nerves on the back nine, which is good," Stevens said, per the PGA TOUR.

It was another near miss in a season full of them. Stevens now has three top-three finishes this year, including a runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open, per the AP. The week started with a 62 that nearly became a 59 and ended one shot short. The breakthrough has not come yet, but the results keep saying it is close.

Kitayama helped make it close. At the par-3 17th, a hole that had bitten him all week, he made bogey for the third straight day. The three-shot lead was down to one with one hole to play.

Par to Win

The 18th played into a left-to-right wind gusting to around 25 mph, per GOLF.com. Kitayama found the fairway with a 3-wood, then hit a 5-iron from 219 yards into the bunker right of the green. He blasted out to about 18 feet and two-putted for par and the win.

It capped a weekend for the record books. Kitayama's Saturday 60 tied the tournament and course record, and he made 20 birdies over the final 36 holes, the most in a PGA TOUR event since 2003, according to the PGA TOUR. He went 17 under across the weekend after starting it tied for 44th.

Knapp's week ended with a sting. His second shot at the 18th found the water for his only bogey of the day, and he settled for a share of third. Adam Svensson, the Thursday leader at 60, rebounded with 68 and 65 on the weekend to tie for 14th. Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas shot 67 and tied for 44th.

Family on the Bag

The win came with a personal twist. Kitayama's regular caddie, Tim Tucker, was back working for Bryson DeChambeau, so his brother Daniel stepped in, per the PGA TOUR.

"It just helps having family on the bag," Kitayama said.

The PGA TOUR also pointed to a steady rebuild of his driving. Kitayama ranked 126th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2023 and was 12th this season. After his 2023 breakthrough, he missed seven cuts the rest of that year and failed to reach the Playoffs in 2024.

What It Means

The stakes were huge. The 500 FedExCup points moved Kitayama from a projected 110th to 53rd, safely inside the top 70 who advance to the Playoffs, and his world ranking was projected to jump from 97th to 39th, per the PGA TOUR. Stevens, still chasing a first TOUR win, rose from 44th to 29th with one regular-season event left.

Two days ago Kitayama was an afterthought in this field. Now he heads into the Playoffs with a trophy, a career-best round and the kind of momentum that changes a season.

Revisit the week: Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3. Final scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round recap, winner story and leaderboard), AP, GOLF.com. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.