⛳️ 60 & a Splash: How Kitayama Hijacked the 3M (and 4 other wild golf stories)

Good morning. This is your Happy Valley Golf Team newsletter. Let’s get it!

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Kurt Goes Nuclear: The -17 weekend sprint that flipped $1 to $1.5 mil.

• Carnage Count: Olesen & Bhatia’s Sunday face-plants, Svensson’s record déjà vu.

• Beyond Blaine: Grace Kim’s playoff magic, Paddy’s Senior slam-ish, Niemann’s LIV steamroller.

• Play-Along Fun: A one-question trivia trap and prop-bet nuggets for Wyndham week.

P.S: If you want to read any previous editions of the newsletter you can on our website and if you were forwarded this email you can subscribe here.

Unsolicited Golf Tips

Watch: The Fastest Way To Improve Your Pitching from 30 - 80 Yards

Golf Trivia

3M Invitational Recap

Spoiler: Kurt Kitayama turned a “barely‐made‐the‐cut” Friday into a champagne-spray Sunday, but the plot had plenty of side quests. Grab your popcorn.

Thursday — Opening-Scene Fireworks

Canadian smooth-swinger Adam Svensson torched TPC Twin Cities with an 11-under 60, punctuating it with a 48-foot eagle on 18 to swipe the course record and an early two-shot lead.

Friday — Leaderboard Jenga & Viral Chaos

• Thorbjørn Olesen followed his opening 62 with a 66, vaulting to -14 and the solo halfway lead.

• Meanwhile Patton Kizzire produced the clip of the week: a hopeless lay-up that bank-boarded off the floating 3M logo, cleared the pond and led to an “in-the-water birdie.” He still missed the cut, but TikTok crowned him champ.

Saturday — Kurt Lights the Fuse

Sneaking through at -5, Kurt Kitayama uncorked a matching 60 (seven birdies, one eagle) to tie Svensson’s record and leap from T-48 to T-3.
Two groups back, Olesen kept the crowd buzzing with a hole-in-one at the 209-yard 8th, preserving a share of the 54-hole lead with Akshay Bhatia.

Sunday — Front-Nine Blitz, Back-Nine Carnage

• Kitayama birdied six of his first eight (29 out), then hung on after a third straight bogey at 17. From a bunker on 18 he coaxed an easy two-putt par for 65 and -23 total.

• One hole ahead, Sam Stevens drove it into rough-city, laid up into more rough and could only salute the flag with a deflating par on the reachable par-5 — finishing one shy at -22.

• Jake Knapp hit a flag-seeking laser on 18… that landed one yard short and plunked into the pond, settling for T-3 (-21).

• The final pairing imploded: Olesen (73) and Bhatia (75) spiraled to T-14 and T-25, proving Minnesota nice doesn’t apply to Sunday pressure.

Quick-Hit Stat Sheet

The Final Frame

Cut-line cliffhanger ➡️ record-tying 60 ➡️ bunker-save curtain call. Kurt Kitayama stole the show, cashed $1.512 M and rocketed from 110th to 53rd in FedExCup land. Everyone else? They’re still drying out their wedges (and egos) from 18.

News You Need to Know

Grace Kim snags her first major with an eagle-birdie-eagle mic-drop at the Evian.
The 24-year-old Aussie erased a four-shot gap and then chipped-in from the penalty area on the first playoff hole before dunking a 12-footer for eagle on the second. Jeeno Thitikul is still looking for her pulse.

Padraig Harrington adds “Senior Slam-ish” credentials at Sunningdale.
A first-hole eagle and a back-nine brake check sealed the 53-year-old’s second senior major of 2025 — and made him just the fifth player to own both Open and Senior Open titles. Rory wandered the gallery; Paddy stayed busy winning.

Lottie Woad turns pro, cashes £223k, and tells the LPGA “hi :)”.
The 21-year-old English starlet blitzed Dundonald Links to win the Women’s Scottish Open by three in her very first paid start. Rose Zhang vibes, links-style.

Joaco Niemann’s LIV domination hits Cinco.
A tidy Sunday 68 at JCB puts the Chilean at five individual wins this season, while Jon Rahm’s late-charge T-5 just pads Torque GC’s team trophy shelf. LIV’s FedExCup-free juggernaut rolls on.

Ryder Cup rule tweak clears the runway for Keegan-the-Playing-Captain.
Luke Donald okayed a clause letting vice-captains coach on-course, freeing Bradley to tee it up himself for the first U.S. player-captain gig since Arnie in ’63. Cue chaos — and hot takes from Europe.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Cody.