Kurt Kitayama is in fine shape in the FedEx Cup playoff race heading into his title defense at the 3M Open this week in Blaine, Minn.

Thanks to 11 straight made cuts and four top-10s on the year, including a T2 at the signature Genesis Invitational, Kitayama sits 32nd in the points’ standings. The top 30 players after the first two playoff events next month qualify for the Tour Championship.

But Kitayama was 110th in points this time last year when he arrived at TPC Twin Cities. Landing in the winner’s circle that week boosted him into the playoffs, and he finished just five spots out of the Tour Championship field.

More importantly, Kitayama said Tuesday, it propelled him into the 2026 season.

“Yeah, just being able to finish the season that well and having that kind of roll into this year definitely helped because all year last year I was struggling,” Kitayama said. “Felt like I was close though. Then for it to finally click after this week and then onwards kind of rolled into this season and help me get off to a good start.”

Kitayama narrowly made the cut only to shoot up the leaderboard with an 11-under-par round of 60 on Saturday. He polished off the comeback win with a Sunday 65.

He said Tuesday that he went to the range after the second round last year searching for something that would aid his swing.

“Just happened that that weekend it worked out,” Kitayama said. “Not necessarily (a fix) that’s like long-term. But I honestly didn’t know that after the range session on Friday, I didn’t know that was going to be something that was going to stick. Just something that happened.”

He also tied for sixth in the event in 2024, and has gone a combined 36 under par in his two starts.

“Yeah, it’s nice to know that I have good results here,” Kitayama said. “To come back to a place that I’ve played well at definitely helps to fall back on what I’ve done in the past and know that even if the game doesn’t feel that good, that you can still play well.”

The 3M Open organizers perhaps knew what they were doing when they put Kitayama in the same group as PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun for the first two rounds.

Koivun’s caddie, David Flynn, was a teammate of Kitayama’s for multiple years on the UNLV men’s golf team. Now he’s toting the bag of the former No. 1-ranked amateur in the world.

“We went to school together … Should be fun,” Kitayama said. “It’s fun, he’ll be walking around the course when we’re playing a practice round, hang out, so looking forward to it.”

–Field Level Media

Athletics rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured testicle on Monday night after an injury during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.

Kuroda-Grauer underwent the surgery at a hospital in Phoenix and the team said he is resting comfortably. The A’s placed him on the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

The injury occurred when Kuroda-Grauer fouled off a pitch in the fifth inning that hit in the groin. He was down on the ground in pain for more than a minute and a trainer attended to him.

Somehow, he initially remained in the game and, three pitches later, delivered a hard-hit single to center. He eventually exited the game prior to the bottom of the sixth.

Kuroda-Grauer, 23, started at third base on Monday and hit his first major league homer earlier in the 5-2 victory. He went 2-for-3 for his eighth multihit outing in just 16 major league games.

Kuroda-Grauer has made a strong first impression with the A’s by batting .417 (25-for-60) with the homer and four RBIs.

The A’s also recalled third baseman Max Muncy and right-hander Hayden Juenger from Triple-A Las Vegas while placing right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. (right hip) on the 15-day injured list.

Muncy, 23, batted .227 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 46 games for the A’s earlier this season.

Juenger, 25, hasn’t pitched for the Athletics but made his first big league appearances earlier this season while with the Toronto Blue Jays. He gave up three runs in two innings. The A’s obtained him in late June.

Leiter, 35, is sidelined with a hip impingement for the second time this season. He is 0-1 with a 4.28 ERA in 36 relief appearances this season.

–Field Level Media

The New England Revolution ended the first half of their season on something of a sour note — a 1-0 defeat at Charlotte FC despite their opponents playing more than 30 minutes of the match a man down.

The Revolution (8-5-1, 25 points) will hope they can rekindle their enviable form on home turf when they host Toronto FC on Wednesday night in Foxborough, Mass. New England owns a 7-1-0 record at home.

“I think guys are very ready to go,” head coach Marko Mitrovic said at a pre-match press conference. “I think this (World Cup) break was great on one side for them to recover, but also in the past five weeks, I think we used the break in a very good way to keep going, to keep improving, to keep getting better and to prepare for what’s coming.”

The Revs will presumably be backstopped by goalkeeper Matt Turner — their sole representative at the World Cup — whose loan from French club Olympique Lyonnais they extended through the end of the year earlier this month. The U.S. international has helped them in allowing the third-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference this season (18).

During the break, the team also bolstered their depth with the signings of forward Wilson Harris and defender Cody Baker, the latter on loan from Seattle through the end of the year, as well as a multi-year extension for homegrown defender Peyton Miller.

Aside from the usual suspect in Carles Gil, the Revolution will look to Luca Langoni for offense, with the Argentine forward having scored in their last two wins.

They will surely enter with confidence against a Toronto side (3-6-6, 15 points) that is winless in its last 10 games across all competitions. They haven’t won a match since April 4 against Colorado.

Toronto is coming off a rather lifeless 0-0 draw Thursday in their return to play at Canadian rival CF Montreal. They failed to register a single shot on target.

Head coach Robin Fraser expressed hope they would find their offensive shape and set his attention on the New England captain.

“I think Carles Gil is one of the best players in the league,” he said. “… When you have a player like him to build around, certainly it’s a good foundation to start from. I just feel like they’re playing well, they’re playing cohesively, they’re very organized and I think you’re seeing the result of that.”

Toronto will be rejoined by their own captain in Jonathan Osorio, who was suspended from the Montreal match on yellow card accumulation.

On the front end, the visitors will hope for a rebound performance from record signing Josh Sargent. Fellow designated player Djordje Mihailovic may slot into the starting lineup after making his first appearance since March on Thursday.

–Field Level Media