After barely making the cut, Kurt Kitayama caught fire during the third and final rounds and won the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota. It was Kitayama’s second PGA Tour victory and first since the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. And he accomplished it alongside his brother, Daniel, who served as his caddie.
“It’s been awesome having him on the bag, especially with the season I’ve been having,” Kitayama said. “I feel like the game has been trending and for it to finally pay off now it’s been awesome.”
Kitayama shot 65-71-60-65 (-23) and finished one stroke ahead of Sam Stevens. The victory moved Kitayama from outside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings to 53rd, putting him in a great spot to make the playoffs (the top 70 will advance following this week’s Wyndham Championship).
“Jumping up that much is great,” Kitayama said. “The goal is to make the playoffs and give yourself a chance and I was able to get it done today.”
Adam Svensson set a 3M Open scoring record in the first round with an 11-under 60. The previous record was 62, a score equaled by Thorbjørn Olesen and Stevens in Round 1. Kitayama’s 65 put him five strokes back.
On Friday, Svensson couldn’t follow up his great start, shooting a 4-over 75. Meanwhile, Olesen shot 66 and claimed the 36-hole lead at 14-under, one stroke better than Jake Knapp. At 6-under, Kitayama made the cut by a single stroke.
The third round contained more record-setting performances and low scores, resulting in a jumbled leaderboard heading into Sunday. Akshay Bhatia played himself into contention by shooting a 63 with nine birdies and a bogey. Through 54 holes, Bhatia shared the lead with Olesen at 18-under.
Olesen’s 67 included an ace. He holed out on the eighth hole from 209 yards with a 6-iron. It was his first hole-in-one on tour.
Four players ended Saturday one back of the leaders at 17-under: Knapp, Stevens, Takumi Kanaya and Kitayama. With 12 birdies and a bogey, Kitayama equaled Svensson’s tournament record with an 11-under 60.
Michael La Sasso, a member of the 2025 U.S. Walker Cup team, was the only amateur to make the cut. In the third round, he shot 63 with eight birdies and no bogeys. It’s the lowest round by an amateur on tour this season.
“I had a good time,” La Sasso said. “Kind of blitzed it there in the middle of the round. Yeah, it was a lot of smiling so it was good.”
On Sunday, Kitayama separated himself from the pack early. His irons were dialed in, and he birdied six of his first nine holes. This included a chip-in birdie on the third hole for three in a row. When Kitayama made the turn, he was at 23-under, three strokes clear of the field.
Kitayama bogeyed the 11th hole, but immediately bounced back with birdie on 12. On the 14th hole he found a fairway bunker with his drive but hit his approach to 2 feet, setting up a birdie to get to 24-under.
After a three-putt bogey on 17, Kitayama came to the final hole with a one-stroke lead over Stevens. A couple of bad breaks for Stevens on the 18th kept him from taking advantage of the par-5, and Kitayama sealed victory with a par.
Everett Munez