U.S Open Preview & Picks
June 13, 2023
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2023 U.S Open Preview & Picks The 123rd U.S Open bring us to Los Angeles Country Club for the first major ever held at the
2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational Recap
Dominick Stefanacci
The 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational was a thrilling golf tournament. The competition was fierce, with many of the world’s top golfers vying for the championship title in another designated event. After an “easy” day one, Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge Golf Course suddenly grew teeth and the fun began.
We saw Kurt Kitayama emerge victorious for his first career victory, thanks to his performance under pressure & some exceptional play on the greens. The tournament also saw some other notable performances, including Viktor Hovland’s incredible hole-in-one, John Rahm’s rise & fall and some guys fall short of the cut line with the most notable being Colin Morikawa.
Overall, the Arnold Palmer Invitational was a highly entertaining event that kept fans on the edge of their seats. With so much talent on display, it was a true showcase of golfing prowess and skill. I’d say it’s was a little better than watching re-runs of Soap Operas on the CW with no LIV Event this past weekend.
The Winner - Kurt Kitayama
Welcome to the Winners Circle Kurt! The 30 year old Kitayama earns his first PGA Tour Victory after an eventful 72 Holes. Kitayama is somewhat seasoned as he has competed in 10 different golf tours around the globe. From his college nickname “The Project” at UNLV to holding off McIlory, Speith & Cantlay, Kitayama has come quite a long way. Kurt’s line for the weekend was 67-68-72-72. Yes….he was -9 after his second round on the tournament. After this birdie putt on Hole 17 to regain the outright lead, he would cruise on to the victory.
Clutch birdie from @Kurt_Kitayama 🔥
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 5, 2023
He leads by one with one to play @APInv. pic.twitter.com/bjLuxCxIto
Top 5 Moments
#1 Viktor Hovland's Hole-In-One
This marks Hovland’s 4th Career Hole-In-One, an astonishing feat in itself. Hovland had already holed out for Eagle in his first round. Don’t let this guy heat up going into the majors.
#2 Kurt Kitayama's Betting Odds
Vegas clearly didn’t believe Kitayama this past weekend. Here were his betting lines before each of his rounds.
+20000: Open
+20000: Round 1
+4000: Round 2
+900: Round 3
+600: Final Round
+360 Standing on 18 Tee with a 1 shot lead
The last person to win a Tournament with these kind of starting odds was Matt Every back in 2015
#3 Rickie Fowler Mid-Round Interview
Taking a page out of the MLB’s playbook, the PGA Tour is now doing on the course interviews. We got one from Max Homa at the Farmers Insurance to now Rickie at the API. This is such a cool way for the fans to get a deeper look at the golf tournament and what the player goes through. Hopefully the Tour Players will keep this up for the fans.
#4 John Rahm's Rise & Fall
Quite arguably the best golfer in the world came out firing to start the 2023 API. In his first round, Rahm shot -7 with 6 Birdie’s, an Eagle & 1 Bogey. What a LOCK, I was already cashing in Swindle’s first winner pick……HA……guess that’s why they play all 4 rounds. After a “slow” start on the front 9 of his second-round, shooting even par, Rahm turns in a 40 on the back 9. Very Uncharacteristic. The Story continued on Day 3 & 4. Not what you want to see from the PGA Tour’s best, but I’ll cut him some slack with the pace he has been on. See you in Augusta Rahm.
#5 How Did This Not Go Down
Check out Kurt Kitayama’s birdie putt on the 18th green. I mean CMON!!!! I think he was missing a Red Nike Shirt & a Nike ball.
Kurt Kitayama 𝘼𝙇𝙈𝙊𝙎𝙏 brought the house down at Bay Hill 🤏 pic.twitter.com/olvd8zDqe2
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 6, 2023
Pick Results for the API:
Top 20 Finish:
Chris Kirk +240
Rickie Fowler +190
This pick was HUGE recency bias coming of Chris Kirk’s victory last week at The Honda Classic. With a hot first round (-5), Kirk failed to record an under-par round for the rest of the Tournament.
The Story stayed the same with Rickie. After a first Round (-4), he would go on to shot +1 in Round 2, 3 & 4. I will say, with Rickies new swing he is starting to take form. Keep him on your radar.
Top 10 Finish:
Patrick Cantlay +210
Rory McIlroy +105
Patrick Cantlay and Rory coming through clutch for Swindle this week. With Rory finishing T2 & Cantlay finishing T4, we are back in the win column after a Tough Honda Classic last week. Obviously these two are prime candidates to win every week but Top 10 was good enough this week. Cheers you two!
To Win/Top 5:
Dom: Jon Rahm +650/+160
JO: Max Homa +2000/+450
As mentioned before, bad week for Jon Rahm finishing at +1. Let’s not beat a dead horse.
Max on the other hand, played a solid tournament finishing T14 (-4). Max’s stellar 2023 continues as he was in striking distant for this weeks tournament. With 20 MPH winds in round 2 & 3, it was a tough ask for Max to chase down Kitayama at (-9). I’m sure Mr. Homa will gladly walk away from this tournament with his $325,000 tournament winnings.
Swindle of the Week:
Matt Fitzpatrick over Tyrrell Hatton +100
Tournament Matchup
This one hurt. Fitzy had this one in the bag. With a 4 shot lead over Hatton going into the 3rd round……..disaster strikes. Fitzpatrick cards a (+4) while Hatton tears it up with an impressive (-6). Ouch. Nothing like a 10-shot swing to blow up the Swindle of the Week Pick.
The stage is set 😍
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 6, 2023
It's @THEPLAYERSChamp week. pic.twitter.com/tRA3BIAO07
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