“This win’s going to be extra special having him on the bag. It’s a very cool experience and I’m really happy he’s part of it,” said Kitayama.
“He helped me stay calm out there, make good decisions and (it) just helps having family on the bag,” he added.
Kitayama could not have asked for a better start to his final round as he began his day with three birdies in a row, before finishing the front nine 6-under.
The back nine slowed the 32-year-old a bit, but Kitayama showed what he is made of with a couple of superb shots under pressure – most notably a 7-iron from a fairway bunker 190 yards out, which the now two-time winner stuck to within a few feet of the hole and tapped in for birdie, keeping his momentum going.
“That was a very big shot… fairway bunker from 190 and to hit it how I hit it was unbelievable”, he said modestly.
“I also think the bunker shot on 18, making sure I get that on the 2 green and give myself a decent look to easy two-putt that, those two shots were really big,” added Kitayama.
Seamus Power’s bid for a top 10 finish slowly began to unwind in the early stages of the final round as the Waterford man struggled on and around the greens, three-putting on a couple of occasions.
A final round of 1-under saw the 38-year-old finish the weekend at T28, tied with Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim and eight others.
Power scrambled well to save numerous pars, most notably on the par-5 18th, securing a par after a water-bound tee shot forced him to take a penalty drop.
Sam Stevens finished in a solo T2 position, just one behind Kitayama after an eventful back nine undid some of the early bogeys in his final round.
Needing a birdie on 18 to go into a playoff, Stevens had some bad fortune as his drive petered into the second cut, forcing the 29-year-old to layup his second shot.
“I’m not too disappointed. I would have liked to have had a chance to go for it on the 18th. That’s a pretty tough driving hole and I hit a pretty good drive. I just kind of overcut it just a little bit…overall, I’m very pleased,” said Stevens.
“Now I’m in the Top 30 in the FedExCup. I’m happy about that, I get to tee it up again next week and give it another crack, so that’s good,” he added.
Tied for the lead going into the final round, Akshay Bhatia had a round to forget as the 23-year-old Californian shot a disappointing 4-over par, taking him out of the running in the early stages of Sunday.
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