Monday Finish: Five things from Muirfield Village

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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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR and Anheuser-Busch today announced an extension of their longstanding marketing relationship that continues Michelob ULTRA’s position as the “Official Beer Sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions” through 2024. Additionally, O’Doul’s will continue to serve as the “Official Non-Alcohol Beer of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.” As part of the multi-year extension, Anheuser-Busch will add Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer as the “Official Hard Seltzer of the PGA TOUR,” a new official category for the PGA TOUR. “We are thrilled to continue our longstanding relationship with Anheuser-Busch and look forward to celebrating 30 years of partnership in 2024,” said Brian Oliver, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “As all great partnerships do, our relationship has evolved over the years, and we share in the excitement that Michelob ULTRA is the fastest-growing beer brand in the United States. The PGA TOUR takes pride in providing the very best products for our fans, and we look forward to the addition of Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer with this extension to complement Michelob ULTRA and O’Doul’s.” Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with the PGA TOUR began in 1994, and Michelob ULTRA became an official sponsor of the TOUR in 2002. Michelob ULTRA will continue to have a substantial activation footprint at tournaments across the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions schedule. “Partnering with the PGA TOUR over the years has allowed Michelob ULTRA unprecedented access to engage with and provide meaningful experience to golf fans, who are core consumers of our beer,” said Ricardo Marques, Vice President of Michelob ULTRA. “Stepping into yet another new chapter with the PGA TOUR is truly exciting as fans are welcomed back and we build even greater experiences for years to come.” Michelob ULTRA will continue to advertise within PGA TOUR telecasts and across PGA TOUR social and digital channels. For more information, visit MichelobULTRA.com or follow @MichelobULTRA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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Round 1 of the Travelers Championship takes place Thursday from TPC River Highlands in Connecticut. The star-studded field includes defending champion Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Bubba Watson (tee times) Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau (tee times) Garrick Higgo, Patrick Cantlay, Marc Leishman (tee times) Stewart Cink, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed (tee times) MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks The First Look How Bubba gave back to Pensacola Who Monday qualified?

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