| -9 K Kitayama (US); -8 H English (US), R McIlroy (NI); -7 P Cantlay (US), T Hatton (Eng), S Scheffler (US), J Spieth (US) |
| Selected others: -5 J Day (Aus), V Hovland (Nor); -4 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); E D Willett (Eng) |
| Full leaderboard |
Rory McIlroy missed out on victory by one shot at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as Kurt Kitayama kept his composure to secure victory.
McIlroy missed a 10-foot birdie attempt on the 18th and finished on eight under after a final-round 70.
American Kitayama birdied the 17th to reach nine under and made a par on the last for his maiden PGA Tour win.
“I’ve been dreaming of this for a while,” he said. “I’ve been close and to finally get it done feels amazing.”
Kitayama produced a level-par 72 on the final day which included four birdies, a bogey and a triple bogey.
McIlroy had five bogeys in his final round, which also contained seven birdies as he shot two under on the last day.
The Northern Irishman finished tied for second alongside American Harris English.
“It’s disappointing,” said McIlroy. “I felt like I gave myself a great chance after a birdie on the 13th and then to play the final five holes in one over par, with this jam-packed leaderboard, isn’t really going to get it done.
“It was a battle all day. I felt like I hung in there really well and just came up one short in the end.”
American Jordan Spieth hit four birdies in his first five holes but, while he had two further birdies, he also produced four bogeys as he carded a final round of 70 to finish on seven under.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler (73) was also on seven under, along with compatriot Patrick Cantlay (68) and England’s Tyrrell Hatton (72).
