Kurt Kitayama had to make a two-putt from 47 feet to win his first PGA Tour competition, and he came so close to rolling it in on the 18th green of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Golf fans on social media went wild after he chose to hide a penny under his ball and mark it after his putt mysteriously stopped short of the hole, giving him a real tap-in to win. The edge of the hole was where his TaylorMade TP5x, which was inscribed with two Ks, was hanging, so he chose to hold off on declaring victory for a little while longer.
Fans were anticipating Kitayama to go ahead and tap his putt in and wait for playing partner Viktor Hovland to finish out before celebrating the win because it is customary for the winner to wait until their playing partners are completed before tapping in for victory.
He decided to wait until the moment had fully hit him before tapping in for his first-ever PGA Tour victory and a payout for $3.6 million, leaving his marker just an inch short from the hole.
Golf fans on social media went wild after he chose to hide a penny under his ball and mark it after his putt mysteriously stopped short of the hole, giving him a real tap-in to win. The edge of the hole was where his TaylorMade TP5x, which was inscribed with two Ks, was hanging, so he chose to hold off on declaring victory for a little while longer.
Fans were anticipating Kitayama to go ahead and tap his putt in and wait for playing partner Viktor Hovland to finish out before celebrating the win because it is customary for the winner to wait until their playing partners are completed before tapping in for victory.
He decided to wait until the moment had fully hit him before tapping in for his first-ever PGA Tour victory and a payout for $3.6 million, leaving his marker just an inch short from the hole.