GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN

July 10, 2022

Kurt Kitayama

The Renaissance Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Current clubhouse leader, Kurt Kitayama, heading no today, what war your expectations and how good is that 4-under 66 in these conditions?

KURT KITAYAMA: I just knew that I had to get off to a good start. Yesterday I kind of fumbled a little bit. So I knew I could do it in these kind of conditions. If I was able to be steady all the way through.

Q. Last time we saw you in the hunt was in México against Jon Rahm and you walked away from that saying that "that is going to be a learning experience for me." Were you able to apply that today?

KURT KITAYAMA: Yeah, definitely. It was windy there. Similar conditions. Just staying patient and you kind of remember like what happened down the stretch there and try and stay calm.

Q. Do you feel like you have done enough?

KURT KITAYAMA: I don't know. These conditions, maybe, but obviously Xander and there's still a few other good players out there that can make birdies. Just going to have to wait and see.

Q. Excellent round of golf for you today but I wanted to talk to you about 16, when you saw that ball in the bunker, the look on your face said it all but you hit a brilliant shot. How did you pull it off?

KURT KITAYAMA: I was just looking to get it out on the green. Caught it a little more clean than I thought I would and it came out great.

Q. Tell me about the approach shot on 18. You hit a very bold approach?

KURT KITAYAMA: It's just a tough hole, especially into the wind. Kind of got to tell yourself, you have to hit a good shot, and luckily I was able to pull it off.

Q. Being a player who has won on the DP World Tour, The European Tour before, and now a chance to win on the PGA TOUR, what are these moments going to be like? How does it feel to be in that position now?

KURT KITAYAMA: Yeah, it's really exciting. I feel like just being in contention is always a good spot, and you get those nerves and those feelings and excitement and it's just a lot of fun.

Q. Do you think that's going to be enough to get the job done?

KURT KITAYAMA: You know, I don't know. I've just got to wait around and see. Yeah, pretty much just got to wait. You never know what's going to happen.

Q. What will you do while you wait?

KURT KITAYAMA: I'm just going to sit inside and kind of cool off and just relax and just watch golf probably.

Q. And this result will mean that you will be playing at St Andrews next week, I believe. How do you feel about that qualification?

KURT KITAYAMA: Yeah, it's really exciting. Being the 150th, there's a lot of hype around it. So I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be really cool.

Q. You've qualified for next week's Open at St Andrews.

KURT KITAYAMA: Yeah, there's been a lot of talk about it being the 150th at St Andrews so it's going to be really cool. I've actually never played there. Missed out on the Dunhill. It's going to be really exciting.

Q. Was that one of the goals this week?

KURT KITAYAMA: Yeah, absolutely. It's kind of why I played last week, too, and this week was to give myself a chance qualifying. It's exciting.