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The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Kurt Kitayama is chasing his first PGA Tour victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a world-class group of contenders right behind him.
Kitayama should be used to that.
Last year alone, he fell one shot sort of Jon Rahm in Mexico, Xander Schauffele in Scotland and Rory McIlroy in South Carolina.
Kitayama handled the wind that only made Bay Hill tougher, posting a 4-under 68 for a two-shot lead over Jordan Spieth, a three-time major champion and former No. 1 player in the world.
"Right now I feel like I'm just trying to get that win," Kitayama said. "It's tough, especially with the guys I've been against. So I've just got to keep putting myself in that position to give myself a chance."
Rahm finally looked human. His final five holes included a double bogey, three bogeys and a birdie. He shot 76, his highest score since a 76 in the third round of the PGA Championship last May, and fell six shots behind.
"How would I characterize it? What do you think I'm going to say? Excuse my language, but it's (expletive) hard," Rahm said.
He was smiling as he spoke, happy to be done and resigned that a tough day at the office would not belong only to him in these conditions.
"It's firm. It's fast. And it's blowing 30 miles an hour," he said. "It's a very difficult golf course."
Kitayama was at 9-under 135, and the immediate challenge is Spieth, who tied for fourth in his lone appearance at Bay Hill.
Spieth reached the par 5s on the back nine in two to set up birdies, holed a long par putt on 15th, holed a long birdie putt from the fringe on the 17th, and then got a huge break with what he called the worst drive he ever hit with a snap hook that looked certain to go out-of-bounds.
Instead, it settled at the base of a mesh boundary fence. Spieth's only play was to invert a sand wedge and play it left-handed. That would put his feet on the cart path, and from there he was entitled to a free drop.
"It was very lucky," Spieth said. "The whole entire hole I should have made 6 or 7, and I sneaky almost made a 4."
He missed the par putt and had to settle for a 69, and a spot in the final group Saturday.
Cameron Young looked to be right there until the final four holes. He was one shot behind until a pair of bogeys and then a shot from the thick rough into the water on the 18th for a double bogey and a 73. He was five behind.
Schauffele dropped only one shot -- his approach to the 11th came up short and into the water, and he made an 18-foot putt to escape the bogey -- and played the final 16 holes without a bogey. He shot 70 and was three behind along with Corey Conners, who had the low round of the day at 66.
"Felt like a 62," Conners said.
Justin Thomas managed eight birdies, only for a bogey-bogey finish for a 67. He was in the group at 5-under 139 that included Patrick Cantlay (71) and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, who birdied his last three holes for a 69.
Kitayama plodded along even as the wind began to pick up. He was bogey-free until the par-5 16th when he got out of position off the tee and had to play short of the water with his third shot, leading to bogey.
But he answered with a 100-foot bunker shot to tap-in range on the par-3 17th, and with the wind at his back, hit gap wedge to 10 feet for birdie.
Kitayama doesn't need a PGA Tour event to get in some good competition. He plays regularly in Las Vegas with Schauffele and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa.
"Yeah, Kurt, we call him 'Quadzilla' or the 'Quadfather.' He's got really big legs," Schauffele said. "He's a good dude. He's a really good player. He hangs tough and he's got a good head on his shoulders. So not surprised to see him up there."
There's plenty of power from those legs on the 5-foot-7 Kitayama. After a tap-in birdie on the 11th, he hammered a drive 361 yards on the par-5 12th, leaving only an 8-iron to the green that set up another birdie.
McIlroy, meanwhile, got under par for the first time in the tournament on his 26th hole, making a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole. He birdied the par 5s on the front nine and finished with a 69, still seven behind Kitayama but not overly stressed about it.
"Kurt's a great player, but you look at some of the people that are on 6 (under) behind him, like Xander," McIlroy said. "It's not the lead … but I feel like if I can catch Xander, then I'm going to get pretty close to winning the golf tournament."
Two players had to return Saturday morning to finish the second round. One was Greg Koch, in the rough on the difficult par-4 ninth. If he made birdie, the cut would be 1-over 145 and he would knock out seven players. A bogey would mean Koch misses the cut.
PGA Tour
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- Carson Young had to lean more on his short game Friday and posted a 5-under 67 and built a four-shot lead going into the weekend at the Puerto Rico Open.
Young, a 28-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour, didn't have quite the theatrics as his opening round of three eagles that carried him to a 63. He still put himself in great position as he goes after his first tour win.
"I didn't quite have it like I did yesterday, but it was still good," Young said. "My tee shots weren't quite the way I wanted them today, I got into trouble a good bit, but my short game really saved me today."
What stood out was holing a bunker shot for birdie on the par-3 sixth hole -- his 15th of the day at Grand Reserve Golf Club -- and another birdie on the par-3 eighth hole that gave him a cushion. He finished with a bogey on No. 9.
Young was at 14-under 130.
Another tour rookie, Nico Echavarria of Colombia, had a 67 and was four shots back along with Paul Haley II (66).
Ryan Gerard had a 67 and was six shots behind in a tie for sixth. Gerard earned the last spot in the field at the Honda Classic last week in a Monday qualifier, and then finished fourth to earn a spot in Puerto Rico.
LPGA Tour
SINGAPORE -- Danielle Kang avoided distractions during a rain-soaked day and shot a 9-under 63 Friday for a one-shot lead after the second round of the Women's World Championship in Singapore.
Kang opened with a 71 for a 10-under 134 total after two rounds.
Allisen Corpuz (65), Hyo Joo Kim (67) and first-round leader Elizabeth Szokol (71) were a shot back at the Sentosa Golf Club. Szokol opened on Thursday with a 64.
Three others, including American player Nelly Korda, were another shot back at 8-under 136.
The round was suspended by heavy rainfall, but it didn't faze Kang.
"I actually don't mind weather delays that much because I feel I just have time to chill. I feel less rushed," Kang said.
"But my caddie was really helpful in the rain," she added. "I told him he had magic towels. I don't know what was happening, but the grip was fully soaked when it went in the bag, and every time he handed me the club, it was completely dry. So it was pretty incredible."
Corpuz sounded the same theme and said she was "trying to stay patient today, especially with all the weather delays."
The serenity paid off on No. 8 with an eagle-3.