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PGA Tour news: Kurt Kitayama leads at Pebble Beach after medical emergency halts play

Kurt Kitayama defied the rainy and windy conditions to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California.

The American, who is chasing his first PGA Tour title, parred his first nine holes before adding three birdies and a bogey in a two-under-par 70 that left him one shot clear of first-round leader Hank Lebioda, Kevin Mitchell, Brando Wu and Joseph Bramlett on nine-under 134.

Kitayama admitted it was a hard day's work amid the challenging conditions that had golfers like England's Justin Rose and Ireland's Seamus Power say it reminded them of home.
The 30-year-old played the par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of three courses in use over the first three rounds along with par-72 Spyglass Hill and the par-71 Monterey Peninsula.
"Today was really tough, but overall, I'm really happy with where I'm at and how I played today," said Kitayama.
"It was a bit of a dreary kind of day, kind of English I suppose," said Rose, who had a hole-in-one at the par-three 15th on the way to a three-under 69 at Spyglass Hill.
"A special day always when you manage to have a hole-in-one," he said. "I believe it's my 12th.
More rain and wind has been forecast for the weekend, leading to tee times being moved up to try to miss the worst of it.
"It was one of those days kind of like back home in Ireland where you get a lot of seasons in one day," said Power. "Even when you get opportunities in the fairway the greens because of the rain are soft. So trying to keep the ball close to the hole, it can be challenging. I was able to make some putts to cover up some of the mistakes."
Friday's round was also interrupted by a scary moment when play was stopped at the 11th hole at Pebble Beach after a caddie for one of the amateurs collapsed and received CPR before being taken to a nearby hospital.
"During the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, there was a medical emergency at No. 11 at Pebble Beach involving an amateur's caddie," the PGA Tour said in a statement. "The caddie has been rushed to Montage Health for evaluation."
The two PGA players in the affected group, Max McGreevy and Beau Hossler, were allowed to take a moment to compose themselves before carrying on and completing their rounds.
Thankfully, the caddie is expected to recover.
Meanwhile, the Pro-Am portion of the competition once again saw several celebrities in action, including retired Wales star Gareth Bale, Bill Murray, Ray Romano, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Duhamel and Jason Bateman.

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