SHRINERS CHILDREN'S OPEN

October 18, 2024

Kurt Kitayama

TPC Summerlin

Quick Quotes

Q. Kurt, in with a bogey-free round today. Did you kind of anticipate any of that happening when you are warming up this morning?

KURT KITAYAMA: No, definitely not. I was thinking it was going to play really hard and I had to limit big numbers. But luckily when did I miss I missed in the right spot; was able to just grind it out.

Q. You're a local and you play here a bit. Have you seen conditions like this, and what was it like preparing for them today?

KURT KITAYAMA: Not normally in the fall. We usually have pretty good weather this time of year. In the spring we're known for getting pretty windy. Different time of year, so, yeah, wasn't really ready for this.

Q. What did you do particularly well out there today?

KURT KITAYAMA: I think managing my misses. That was the biggest thing. I was able to get myself fairly simple chip shots to not have to grind too hard on the next shot, so that was really good.

Q. Was there any sort of moment out there that kept your momentum going in the round to stay bogey-free?

KURT KITAYAMA: I mean, the seventh hole, my 16th hole of the day, I made a nice 20-footer or so for par. That was a big putt I think.

Q. What does a low round like today do for your confidence going into the weekend when you're very much in the thick of this golf tournament and going to have benign, normal conditions that you're used to out here?

KURT KITAYAMA: Yeah, it's huge. Being in contention going into the weekend is always a good spot to be. Just got to take it one shot at a time like usual and see what happens with the other wave and see where I stand going into the third round.

Q. How do you strike a balance mentally knowing conditions like that can turn a good shot into a bad shot and not allowing that to kind of diminish your focus on shooting the lowest score possible?

KURT KITAYAMA: Yeah, you got to go with the right mindset that it's probably going to happen. You know, you're not going to hit every shot perfect. One is going to get away from you. As long as you manage that from not getting too far away from you and make you mad, that's kind of how you got to manage it.