Chris

Kirk

Kirk arrived with converging trends, posting a trio of podiums in his last four starts while also having top 15s in five of his last six tries at Bay Hill. It’s been a wild few days after winning the Honda last week but Kirk was able to stay hot today, “I felt a little bit like a zombie this morning, but can’t really take away from the excitement that I have playing this event every year. I talked about it some the last few days, the personal relationship I had with Mr. Palmer, and I just have always loved this golf tournament.” Kirk leaned heavily on the short game today, gaining 1.6 strokes around-the-green and 2.4 strokes putting.

The overnight leader battled with four birdies and a pair of blemishes before reaching the par-5 18th. It was there he found water with his approach shot but salvaged a bogey, leading to a playoff with Eric Cole. Kirk gained 6.3 strokes on approach this week and another 5.6 strokes putting. This goes in the books as his fifth career win and first since the 2015 Crowne Plaza at Colonial. This win also secures his spot in the Masters which was on his mind this week, “I came into this week at 47th in the world golf ranking, and that’s usually not something I care a whole lot about, but I have not played the Masters since 2016, I think, and growing up in Georgia, that kind of means everything to me. So I’ve been watching that World Ranking closely, trying to stay in the top 50.”

Kirk opened with a trio of sub-70 rounds but saved his best for last with a Sunday stroll at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. He circled birdies on seven of his first nine holes but settled for eight pars and one birdie on the homeward nine. “Today was a day where I just, on the front nine, was just hitting it close and driving it great. The back nine, I mean, I’m really disappointed right now that I didn’t make more birdies on the back. But I made so many great swings and I hit so many great putts, especially right there at the end and it just didn’t quite go my way well enough.” The Georgia Bulldog now has back-to-back podium finishes (3rd at the Sony Open) and climbs to 23rd in the early FedExCup race.

The Georgia Bulldog stormed out the gate with opening rounds of 64-65 to post the 36-hole lead but slowed his pace over the weekend as his ball striking took a dip. He piped 17 fairways before the cut but just 13 over the weekend. He pelted 32 greens before the cut but just 26 over the final two days. This will be his 10th career podium finish on the PGA TOUR and the third at Waialae Country Club (2014, 2021).

Kirk was steady with 9-of-14 fairways hit and 16 GIR but did a lot of damage with the the flat stick. He walked off the course ranked 3rd in strokes gained putting with the highlight being a 24-foot birdie bomb at the par-4 second, just after he made the turn. “I’ve had a lot of good finishes here, a couple really close calls to win here in the past. Just a place where I’m comfortable.” Kirk is 8-for-12 at Waialae Country Club with a pair of runner-up finishes and two other top 10s. If this co-lead sticks then it would go in the books as his seventh career first-round lead or co-lead and second at the Sony (2018, T10).

The 37-year-old arrived off a T42 at The 150th Open two weeks ago, where he was T119 after R1, and has posted four top 10s this season in 22 events. His career high in top 10s is five during the 2014 campaign when finishing a career-best 2nd in the FedExCup standings, including three top-3 finishes, but has only recorded three top-3 finishes in eight seasons since. The Georgia alum offset one bogey-4 today at hole 9 (3-putt from 47'2") with six birdies at 4, 7, 8, 10, 16 and 17, three from between 10 and 17 feet, posting -0.256 SG: Tee-to-Green and 2.983 SG: Putting. At the three-quarter mark, he currently ranks 49th TTG (0.793), drug down by a -0.916 SG: Around (62nd-ranked), and No. 1 SGP (6.671). His season best is a pair of T5’s, most recently at the 104th PGA six starts ago, which was/is his lone top-10 finish in 20 major appearances.

Today’s round was blemish-free but not stress-free. Kirk lost 0.9 strokes tee-to-green but bailed himself out with 3.1 strokes gained putting. Highlights included a pair of par-savers from outside of eight feet as well as a 17-footer for birdie at the 5th and a 10-footer for birdie at the par-5 17th. The Georgia Bulldog has just one bogey through 36 holes this week but he will need to tidy up the tee-to-green play if he wants to remain in the hunt this weekend. Kirk arrived with finishes of 21st and 12th in two tries at Detroit Golf Club.

This was the Georgia alum’s sixth Canadian Open, sixth cash and second top 10, joining a T4 on debut in 2012 at Hamilton G&CC. He improves to 14-for-20 on the season with four top 10s, first since a major-best T5 at the 104th PGA three starts ago, and is now one top 10 short of a career-high five during the 2014 campaign, which included his only multi-win season (2). He remains winless, however, since the 2015 Crowne Plaza Invite 164 starts ago, but it’s another confidence-building week after posting 69-69-66-66, T21 at the midpoint. The 37-year-old totaled one eagle and 14 birdies against six bogeys, ranked 9th SG: Tee-to-Green (9.081) and 29th SG: Putting (2.052), 0.345 SGP on Sunday, and will now take the week off after not qualifying for this coming week’s 122nd U.S. Open.

The Georgia alum is the top 10 at the three-quarter mark for a sixth time this season in 20 starts, three in his last four, including at the 104th PGA three starts ago, where he was T10 before finishing a major-best T5 (68-70-71-68). He’s chasing a fifth TOUR victory in 296 events, first since the 2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational 164 starts ago, where he came from three back (T4) with 4-under 66 to win by one over three players. Thru 54 holes, the 37-year-old has signed for laps of 69-69-66, totaled one eagle, a 3 today at hole 9 (from 18'1"), and 10 birdies versus six bogeys, and ranks 13th SG: Tee-to-Green (6.809) and 37th SG: Putting (1.704). He’s now 6-for-6 at the Canadian Open and owns three prior top 25s and one top 10, a T4 on debut in 2012 (Hamilton G&CC), where he was T4 thru 54 holes (69-66-63-68).

The Georgia alum won here in 2015 for a fourth TOUR title and hasn’t won since. That was 162 starts and seven years ago this week, coming from three back (T4) with 4-under 66 to win by one over three players. Kirk was World No. 23 then; he arrived this week not far from there (No. 67), and will be in the fourth-to-last pairing on Sunday with Patrick Reed, beginning four back of leader Scottie Scheffler. Thru 54 holes, he posted progressively worse laps of 66-67-70, totaled 13 birdies versus six bogeys, three against three today, and ranks 19th SG: Tee-to-Green (5.195) and 10th SG: Putting (3.021), including a 0.463 SGP today, where he converted two scoring chances from between 20 and 43 feet, but also missed five putts from inside of 13 feet.