Kurt Kitayama leaps past Jon Rahm, 57 others to new top-50 World Ranking after 3M Open win

Kurt Kitayama won his second PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. After struggling with his game on Friday, he bounced back in the final two rounds and seized a one-stroke win in the game over Sam Stevens.

With the victory, Kitayama earned $1.5 million in prize money along with 500 FedEx Cup points. He also made a significant jump in the Official World Golf Rankings and surpassed Jon Rahm and 57 others in the list.

Kitayama was ranked 97th ahead of the tournament, and with the win, he jumped into the top 50 and settled in 39th place. However, his career-best ranking is 19th. Jon Rahm is ranked 71st in the OWGR.

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler is still leading, followed by Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.

Here are the top 20 in the OWGR:

• 1. Scottie Scheffler
• 2. Rory McIlroy
• 3. Xander Schauffele
• 4. Justin Thomas
• 5. Russell Henley
• 6. Collin Morikawa
• 7. Keegan Bradley
• 8. Harris English
• 9. J.J. Spaun
• 10. Sepp Straka
• 11. Ludvig Åberg
• 12. Hideki Matsuyama
• 13. Viktor Hovland
• 14. Robert MacIntyre
• 15. Tommy Fleetwood
• 16. Bryson DeChambeau
• 17. Ben Griffin
• 18. Maverick McNealy
• 19. Shane Lowry
• 20. Justin Rose

Kurt Kitayama was ranked 72nd ahead of his first event of the season at the Sony Open. He struggled with his game at the tournament and settled in T37, slipping down to 73rd in the OWGR.

Kitayama further struggled with his game and slipped down to the top 100. He was ranked 112th ahead of the CJ Byron Nelson, but a T5 finish in the tournament helped him bounce back into the top 100 and settled in 95th position.

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A look into Kurt Kitayama's performance in 2025

Kurt Kitayama had played in a total of 19 tournaments this season on the PGA Tour and made the cut in 11 of them. He recorded three finishes in the top 10.

Here is a quick recap of Kurt Kitayama's 2025 season:

• Sony Open in Hawaii: T37 (70, 66, 69, 67) $36,975
• The American Express: T58 (69, 67, 70, 72) $19,712
• Farmers Insurance Open: CUT (70, 79)
• WM Phoenix Open: T49 (68, 71, 73, 67) $22,586
• Mexico Open at Vidanta: CUT (70, 71)
• Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches: CUT (71, 69)
• THE PLAYERS Championship: T33 (72, 70, 78, 66) $136,250
• Valspar Championship: CUT (80, 69)
• Texas Children's Houston Open: T39 (68, 65, 68, 72) $36,575
• Valero Texas Open: CUT (71, 78)
• Zurich Classic of New Orleans: CUT (61, 75)
• THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson: T5 (66, 65, 68, 68) $305,971.88
• PGA Championship: CUT (73, 71)
• Charles Schwab Challenge: T22 (69, 67, 67, 73) $88,666.67
• RBC Canadian Open: CUT (71, 68)
• Rocket Classic: T51 (70, 68, 68, 72) $22,709.33
• John Deere Classic: T5 (68, 67, 66, 67) $278,250
• Barracuda Championship: T14 (+32) $73,000
• 3M Open: 1 (65, 71, 60, 65) $1,512,000