Kurt Kitayama inspired by good memories as he mounts Arnold Palmer Invitational defence

The American claimed his first PGA Tour title at Bay Hill, Orlando last year, where he edged out Rory McIlroy to claim victory.

Defending a single-shot lead overnight, Kitayama was given a scare after carding a triple-bogey seven at the ninth but birdied the 17th to avoid a play-off.

The tournament will be Kitayama's sixth start of 2024 and he reflected on his "good memories" of winning the red cardigan last year.

"It's been a crazy year, and I'm happy to be back, for sure. A lot of good memories. Hopefully, be able to use those down the stretch again," he told a press conference.

"Even when I made that triple, knowing that I still was playing good, and even though I made that triple, I ended up still having a chance to win at the end.

"That putt on 17 was really big. That's kind of one of my biggest memories."

Patrick Cantlay finished tied for fourth with Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Tyrrell Hatton on his tournament debut last year and the world number six is looking forward to returning.

"Yeah, it's great to be back. I hadn't played it before last year, but now back two years in a row," Cantlay told a press conference.

"I played well last year. It's a golf course that's historically particularly difficult, and I think this year will be more of the same.

"The fairways are hard to hit, and there's a big penalty if you do miss the fairways. The greens look like they can get really firm, especially if there's no rain this week."

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