Kurt Kitayama

Kurt Kitayama, out of USA — West, rates 83 overall on the PGA Tour — the numbers add up to a Tour Winner, with power the clear peak of the profile at A.

• At A, Kitayama's power rating is elite (92nd percentile of the 2025–26 pool) — only 8 players in the pool rate higher. How far the ball goes off the tee — long hitters shorten every hole.
• Accuracy B+ — well above the pool average in the 2025–26 pool; 20 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. How often the ball finds the fairway and stays out of trouble.
• Iron Play sits at A- for Kitayama, a clear strength across the 2025–26 pool: only 12 players in the pool rate higher. Precision from the fairway into the green — the single biggest driver of low scores.
• Short Game sits at B+ for Kitayama, on the stronger side of average across the 2025–26 pool: 35 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Scrambling around the green — chips, pitches, and bunker shots that save par.
• Putting sits at B for Kitayama, a touch below tour-average across the 2025–26 pool: 56 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Holing putts, especially the ones inside ten feet that turn pars into birdies.
• Course IQ sits at A- for Kitayama, a clear strength across the 2025–26 pool: only 11 players in the pool rate higher. Course management and shot selection — playing the smart shot, not just the bold one.
• Nerve A- — a clear strength in the 2025–26 pool; 16 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Composure in contention — how a golfer performs with the tournament on the line.
• Consistency A- — comfortably above tour-average in the 2025–26 pool; 18 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. How tightly a golfer's scores cluster around their average, round after round.
• Engine B+ — on the stronger side of average in the 2025–26 pool; 46 of the other 95 players in the pool rate higher. Stamina and durability across a long season — fewer withdrawals, less late-year fade.

Tour Winner. A solid tour winner's profile — no glaring weakness, a rating comfortably above the pool average, and enough all-around game to be a threat most weeks without a single standout attribute.

The closest attribute profiles in the 2025–26 pool belong to Keith Mitchell (96% similar), Xander Schauffele (92% similar) and Alex Smalley (91% similar) — three builds that would feel familiar to play.

• Keith Mitchell,
• Xander Schauffele,
• Alex Smalley

Of the 24 events on the schedule, PGA Championship, THE PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open suit this build's attribute mix the best, based on how each course's demands line up with the card's strengths.

• PGA Championship — Major
• THE PLAYERS Championship — Flagship
• U.S. Open — Major

At $6M (B tier), Kurt Kitayama leaves $39M of the $45M Salary Cap budget for the other eight zones — room for 3 more S-tier chips, or 32 E-tier picks, or any mix in between. Good complementary picks to shore up the softer zones (putting, accuracy and short game) include Sam Burns ($8M), Scottie Scheffler ($10M) and Tommy Fleetwood ($10M).

• Sam Burns ($8M),
• Scottie Scheffler ($10M),
• Tommy Fleetwood ($10M)

Ratings on this card are editorial judgment, not official statistics — see the methodology page for how they are derived.

Every rating on this page is a 1–10 editorial judgment, not a live statistic — see how ratings and the season simulation work.