Golf

2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational Day 3: Kitayama Keeps Lead, Showdown Looms For Final Round

Published

3 years ago

March 4, 2023

Kurt Kitayama plays and maintains the lead on Day 3 of the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Kurt Kitayama will sleep on a 54-hole lead Saturday night knowing he’ll play in the final group Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Sleeping soundly, however, may prove difficult given the list of accomplished players hoping to chase him down.

Seeking his first career PGA TOUR victory, the 30-year-old Kitayama birdied two of his final three holes at Bay Hill Club & Lodge for an even-par round in difficult conditions and retained the outright lead for the second straight day. His three-day total of 207 leaves him one stroke ahead of defending champion Scottie Scheffler and World No. 11 Viktor Hovland.

Tyrrell Hatton, the 2020 API champion who tied for second last year with Hovland and Billy Horschel, enters Sunday two strokes off the lead, while the World No. 3, 2018 API winner and four-time major champion Rory McIlroy lurks three shots behind, tied for fifth with Harris English. Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Max Homa – all top-20 players with accomplished resumes – are also in the top 10 and within five strokes of Kitayama.

To say Sunday is teed up to offer a final round filled with dramatics would be an understatement. Kitayama and Hovland will culminate the day as the final tee time at 1:20 p.m.

“I think you just kind of accept it,” Kitayama said when asked how he will handle playing the underdog role amongst so many of golf’s biggest names. “You just look at the leaderboard, the rankings and what they have done. People will probably be cheering for them louder, you know. So there’s nothing I can do. Just embrace it.”

This year’s final-round leaderboard has a similar feel to 2022 when Hovland entered the final round in third place, one shot off the lead, with Scheffler trailing him by a stroke. They played together in the second-to-last group, while McIlroy and Hatton were also in the mix.

“Yeah, should be another fun one,” Scheffler said. “That’s what’s exciting about our new schedule. I think we’re going to have a lot more of this stuff. I’m sure Viktor’s looking to beat me this year and I’m looking to do the same. There’s a lot of talented guys on the leaderboard though. I’m not going to be too focused on anybody else other than myself going into tomorrow. But there are so many talented players out there. It should be a really fun battle.”

Hovland and Hatton tied for the low score of the day on Saturday, both shooting bogey-free rounds of 66.

“I’ve just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing – I’ve been hitting a lot of fairways and greens,” Hovland said. “Last year was — I didn’t quite hit it as good as I did earlier in the week. But even then I still feel like I should have won last year if I had a half-decent short game last year. I still hit it good enough to score, but I feel like I’m stroking it well this year.”

With winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour Saturday, 41 of the 72 players who made the cut shot over par. McIlroy was asked whether the conditions reminded him of playing in Europe, where cross winds and slick greens can make scoring conditions difficult.

“I see it more like a U.S. Open,” McIlroy replied. “I think that’s sort of how it feels with the thick rough and the firm greens and just the real tricky conditions.”

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Arnold Palmer Invitational Day 2: Kitayama Withstands Wind, Secures Lead Heading into Weekend

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Golf

Russell Henley Wins Red Cardigan at 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

8 months ago

March 9, 2025

Mike Brodsky

Russell Henley wins the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN Sports) – Russell Henley wins his first red cardigan at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, today, along with $4 million of the $20 million prize pool. The red cardigan was first awarded in 2017, in memory of Arnold Palmer who passed the year before. This is Henley’s fifth win on the PGA Tour.

Russell Henley is greeted by his family on the 18th green after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

Henley finished at 11 under par for the four day tournament, carding a 70 today. Collin Morikawa finished in second place at 10 under par. API defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, finished today at 4 under par, tied for 11th place.

Scottie Scheffler tees off at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (Photo Credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

This coming week, the top golfers head to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, for The Players Championship. The winner will walk away with $4.5 million of the $25 million up for grabs. This is the PGA Tour’s largest regular season purse. Stay tuned to www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

Celebrity

LPGA Pros Shutout Celebs at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions “Break The Glass” Challenge

Published

10 months ago

January 28, 2025

Mike Brodsky

Photo Credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News

ORLANDO, Fla. (Florida National News) – Some big names in sports, entertainment, and music can be found with golf clubs in hand at The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, this weekend. About 50 celebrities will compete for a $500,000 purse, while LPGA Tour players try to grab their share of $2 million in prize money.

Today, LPGA pros Megan Khang, Alexa Pano, and Bailey Tardy took on celebrities Landon Donovan, Major League Soccer legend, Michael Peña, award-winning actor, and Kira Dixon, Reporter and Miss America 2015 in the annual “Break The Glass” challenge. The LPGA pros shutout the celebs 3-0. You can watch the action here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFYsQKbyiAi/?igsh=YzZlNG9rNXhvbnRy. (And be sure to follow Florida National News on Instagram and Facebook.)

Lydia Ko returns to defend her title, after adding an Olympic gold medal and membership in the LPGA Hall of Fame to her resume since last year’s tournament. Actors Don Cheadle and Larry The Cable Guy, NBA stars Blake Griffin and Ray Allen, and Pro Football Hall of Famers Marcus Allen and Charles Woodson are just some of the celebs hitting the links Thursday, 1/30 through Sunday, 2/2. Tickets and more information are available online at http://www.HGVLPGA.com.

Golf

The ANNIKA Golf Tournament Welcomes WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark

Published

1 year ago

November 12, 2024

Mike Brodsky

Photo Credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News

BELLEAIR, Fla. (FNN) – The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair tees off Wednesday, 11/13 with a Pro-Am featuring WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark. The tournament runs Thursday through Sunday, as the LPGA golfers compete for their share of a $3.25 million purse, while also trying to secure their spot in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. It’s the fifth year of competition for this tournament, named after Annika Sorenstam, who is one of just two players to currently have a tournament named after her on the PGA Tour. Proceeds from this tournament benefit the ANNIKA Foundation, which aims to develop, empower, and advance young women around the world through golf and in life.

The ANNIKA Award (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

The field of 120 includes Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lydia Ko, Brittany Lincicome, and many more top golfers. Annika Sorenstam will particpate in the Pro-Am, but the appearance of Caitlin Clark has certainly boosted ticket sales, and helped to sell out tickets for the Women’s Leadership Summit, where Clark spoke Tuesday.

Back-to-back hurricanes knocked down 40 trees and left twenty inches of rain on the fairways and greens for days. But the course is ready for this weekend’s tournament.

If you’d like to check out the tournament, visit www.theannika.com for tickets and additional information. Be sure to follow www.FloridaSportsChannel.com and www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.