Kurt Kitayama recovered from a final round triple bogey to hold off Rory McIlroy and a star-studded group of chasers to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Leading overnight, all was going swimmingly for the American on the front nine, with birdies at 3, 6, 7 lifting him to -11 and a two stroke lead.
However, after a driving out of bounds, Kitayama registered an ugly 7 at the 9th to fall back to the pack.
It was a pack decorated with gilded names, with McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay all entering into the reckoning.
McIlroy, who began his final round three off the lead, hit the front after a hot stretch around the turn, with four birdies arriving in five holes between the 9th and 13th.
However, after catching sight of his name at the summit of the leaderboard, he was left to rue a poor tee shot at the par-3 14th, the resultant bogey sending him back to the cluster on eight-under. Another dropped stroke followed on 15 after another wayward drive.
He recovered with a tap-in birdie at the par-5 16th but then watched his birdie attempt at the 18th slide by.
Just missed it.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 5, 2023
McIlroy, Scheffler, English and Kitayama all remain tied at 8-under @APInv. pic.twitter.com/fbYqnRKGoJ
As the World No. 3 waited for the final groups to finish, a playoff looked the likeliest outcome but Kitayama, having steadied things on the back nine after his disaster at 9, drained a crucial birdie on 17 to go one stroke clear of McIlroy and Harris English.
Kitayama dragged his tee shot at 18 into the rough but managed to find the green with his second and left a monster first putt on the lip to clinch victory.
"Ecstatic. I've been dreaming of this for a while. I've been close and to finally get it done feels amazing," Kitayama told Sky Sports.
Asked about his emotions throughout the day, he added: "I didn't feel too off. For the most part, I was feeling in control. One loose swing there and maybe a bad kick left, it just happened.
"My heart was pumping, but being in those situations in the past definitely helped. I found myself walking super-fast and then I was like, 'Slow down, just take a minute', and that really helped."
Asked what his primary emotion was, McIlroy said: "Disappointment. I feel like I have myself a great chance after the birdie on 13, and then playing the final five holes in one over par, with this jam-packed field, isn't really going to get it done.
"It was a battle all day. I felt like I hung in there really well, I just came up one short in the end. But Kurt played well and did really well to hang on in that back nine."
Cantlay shot a 68 to tie for fourth with Spieth, defending champion Scheffler and England's Tyrrell Hatton.
