Johnson wins Canadian for 19th PGA Tour title

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Kurt Kitayama came into The Honda Classic with 25 previous appearances on the PGA TOUR, most of them ending by missing the cut. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Former roommates Peter Uihlein and Brooks Koepka enjoy strong start at Honda He’s on track to do a bit better this week in The Honda Classic. Kitayama — ranked No. 289 in the world — was nearly flawless at PGA National on Thursday, shooting a 6-under 64 to take a one-shot lead over Daniel Berger, Chris Kirk and Rory Sabbatini. It was Kitayama’s best score in 69 rounds on the PGA TOUR, fueled by a career-best run of four consecutive birdies on his second nine. And he qualifies as a surprise leader, considering even he didn’t expect a start like this. “Maybe not a start like that, but I felt like I’ve been playing well, and I’ve started to figure out my putting to kind of find this kind of round,” said Kitayama, a California native and former UNLV player who has missed cuts 64 percent of the time — 16 out of 25 — in TOUR events. Berger also was bogey-free, and missed an 8-foot birdie try on the par-5 18th to settle for 65. Peter Uihlein, TOUR rookie Matthias Schwab and Danny Willett were among the group at 67. Brooks Koepka, a Palm Beach County native basically playing a home game this week, was in a group at 68. And Joaquin Niemann, the Genesis winner last week at Riviera in Los Angeles, was 4 under through 12 before giving it all back and settling for an even-par 70. “I didn’t do anything to really deserve to be 4 or 5 under,” Koepka said. “That’s a great score here. Just kind of ho-hummed it around.” Kitayama started on the back nine, opened with three consecutive birdies, then had the run of four consecutive birdies — capped by rolling in a 20-footer from just off the green on the par-4 6th, his 15th hole of the day. “Conditions of the course are perfect,” Kitayama said. “It’s just really tough.” He made it look easy. So did Sabbatini and Berger. Sabbatini, the 2011 Honda Classic winner, had a bogey-free round of 65 with four birdies on the back nine. It was the first time Sabbatini played PGA National as a pro without making a single bogey. “I’m very well aware of it,” Sabbatini said. Berger — whose back has been iffy in recent weeks — was 5 under through 11, then finished with seven consecutive pars. “It’s nice to get off to a good start,” said Berger, who grew up playing junior golf at PGA National. Neither Kitayama nor Sabbatini is a bomber; Kitayama entered the week tied for 74th in driving distance on TOUR, Sabbatini tied for 172nd. That makes PGA National to their liking, considering it’s not a course that gets overpowered. “I’m getting to that point in my game where I think I’ve gotten past where I feel like I’m, I hate to say it, truly competitive out here,” the 45-year-old Sabbatini said. “There’s too many guys out here that have much more firepower, so I’ve just got to kind of pick and choose my way around the golf course. To me, it’s become more of a chess game and less about throwing some darts out there.”

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Wesley Bryan has a long history of producing fun and entertaining trick shots, joining his older brother, George, in creating some amazing Bryan Bros. videos across the years. Bryan’s bogey save from beneath a bush while on his knees on the eighth hole late Friday at the Valspar Championship – his 17th of the day – may be the one he remembers most. It might have saved his PGA TOUR card. Playing in his final start of a major medical extension, Bryan chopped his second shot out to the greenside rough at the par-3 eighth, then pitched from 34 yards to 3 feet. Bogey, and a beautiful one at that. At the uphill, par-4 ninth, needing birdie to play on the weekend, he hit the fairway and then knocked a wedge 4 feet below the hole, barely sneaking the putt inside the left edge to make the cut on the number at 3-under 139. “I felt it on the last hole,” Bryan said, looking back after a 1-under 70 on Saturday at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course. “I usually don’t sweat out cutlines like that. Usually you get the juices flowing when you get into contention. Yesterday just felt a little bit different for sure.” “The bogey on the 17th hole was way better than the birdie on the 18th hole, for sure. On my knees … I was in a world of hurt over there in the left hedges.” Bryan, who turns 32 next week, was playing golf at home 10 months ago when he hit a tee ball and his left wrist “exploded on me.” He played one event in October and Valspar marks his fifth start of 2022 (and his first made cut since January’s Sony Open). Bryan needs a finish of sixth or better to earn enough FedExCup points to keep his PGA TOUR card. Finishing 51st or better on Sunday (a more realistic goal, given that he still was outside the top 50 Saturday afternoon) would give him partial status for the remainder of the season. He said if that is the case, he will play every event he can get into. Watching Bryan rally with two birdies in his last three holes and mix in a miracle bogey save to earn a spot into the weekend wasn’t much of a surprise to his longtime caddie, William Lanier. Bryan was 2 under and needed to get to 3 under with three holes to play. He struck his approach to 12 feet at the seventh (his 16thhole). Lanier knew Bryan would bury the putt. “When he has to get something done, he gets it done,” Lanier said. “He has no quit. Even at his worst, he fights to the end.” Bryan’s wrist injury came after he already had watched his career interrupted by shoulder surgery. In the last four seasons, the winner of the 2017 RBC Heritage in his home state of South Carolina has made only 25 PGA TOUR starts. He is thankful for this: His injuries seem to have been well-timed. His shoulder surgery came about the time his first daughter was born, and his wrist surgery coincided with the birth of his second daughter. “I’d have missed a lot, and I was able to see them grow up under our own roof being home for an extended period of time,” he said. “That was a blessing, for sure.” How much did Bryan miss the game while he was away? “It’s not necessarily golf that I missed,” he said. “Golf frustrates the crap out of me. It’s the competitiveness and the guys out here, your buds, and hanging out playing practice rounds on Tuesdays. Those are the parts that I miss the most.” On Sunday, there will be little to do but swing for the fences. Nothing tricky about it. “It’s going to take a special one,” Bryan said.

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