Dustin Johnson has relied on his younger brother Austin as his caddie for over a decade, including during his 2016 U.S. Open victory at Oakmont. Their chemistry and trust have been crucial in high-pressure moments, allowing Johnson to stay composed and make confident decisions on key shots.
While Kitayama had his brother by his side inside the ropes, some of the most important family members were missing from the event.
When asked by the press how the other family members reacted watching from home, Kitayama replied, “Well… my mom didn’t answer, so I called my dad. I assumed they would be together.” Mothers are often a player’s biggest supporters, and even a quick glimpse of them can give an instant boost of confidence. But not only was his mother missing from the event, she also didn’t pick up his call. The reason she didn’t answer was surprisingly common and one that many families of professional athletes can relate to.
“My dad tells me my mom couldn’t watch; she was, I think, out somewhere, so she couldn’t be too nervous watching,” Kitayama shared. Everyone reacts to pressure differently, and for his mother, the stakes felt so high that watching every shot unfold was too much to bear. Her attachment to his game ran so deep that the only way to manage her nerves was to step away from the screen entirely, choosing to distract herself elsewhere.
It’s understandable for Kitayama to get nervous after all; he was the one in the arena, under the glare of the cameras and the weight of every swing. But in her own way, his mother was fighting a battle just as real, wrestling with the tension of every moment from afar. But she was not the only one with stress piling up. “Then called my girlfriend, and she was ecstatic. Stressed,” Kitayama added. Her girlfriend felt both the thrill of victory and the exhaustion of watching the pressure unfold.
The family moments made this win special, but there’s more to it. For Kitayama, this win landed right when he needed it most in his career.
A Win That Came at the Perfect Time
The timing of this win could not have been better for Kitayama. His year had been one of those seasons where the grind just kept getting heavier. He played 19 events and missed the cut in 8 of them. Last year wasn’t much different, but it wasn’t his worst; he played 23 events and cracked 4 missed cuts. The 2023 season was the year in which 22 and ended up with 9 missed cuts. Not a disaster, but not the kind of rhythm a player dreams about either.
Majors didn’t offer much relief. This year, the PGA Championship was his only major start, and it ended early. Last year, he made it to all four but never truly found himself in the hunt. After his 3M Open win, he admitted, “I’ve been pretty far out this entire year, and with only two events left, I just keep looking to improve.”
To put this win in perspective, it marks Kitayama’s second PGA Tour title, following his breakthrough victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2023. That first win was a major turning point—it pushed him into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time, opening doors to more elite events and boosting his confidence.
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