Chris Kirk
| Team: | PGA Golfer |
| Age / DOB: | (32) / 5/8/1985 |
| Ht / Wt: | 6'3" / 175 |
Chris Kirk is off to a good start at the Valspar Championship, carding a 1-under-par 36-34=70 during round one, placing right outside the top-10 bubble on the live leaderboard with play still in progress.
Battling with Mother Nature in round one, Kirk split just six fairways and landed 10 greens in regulation. On the day, he gave himself just one scoring chance inside 15 feet, a 12'9" birdie opportunity on the first hole, which he missed. All three of his birdies came in a train, starting at the par-3 13th and ending with a 15'2" hole out from just off the green at the 15th. Given the average ball-striking day, scrambling was the name of the game today. Playing his ninth round at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course, this will go in the books as just his second round in red numbers. Mar 8 - 3:25 PM
Beginning off No. 10 tee, World No. 180 Chris Kirk posted 8-under 134 following a 3-under-par 35-33=68 in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, currently T2, which is where he began the day, one short of 36-hole clubhouse leader Daniel Berger. UPDATE: With play completed, Kirk is T5, two adrift of co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau.
The 32-year-old, who opened with 66, landed 10 (of 14) fairways and 14 greens in regulation in R2, gaining 0.460 strokes off-the-tee and 0.703 strokes approaching-the-green. He was bogey-free 4-under thru 10 holes, circling 15, 17, 18 and 1, but sleepwalked from there, overshadowing a fifth and final birdie at 3 with two bogeys at 2 and 5, the latter included a penalty drop (errant tee shot). The Georgia alum's split included two conversions from between 11 and 19 feet, and two, 2-putt versions at the par-5 15th and the drivable par-4 17th. He recorded 1.786 putts per GIR and 1.047 SG: Putting, needing 31 total putts. Feb 2 - 3:35 PM
Chris Kirk coasted for 17 holes at TPC Scottsdale before dropping his first shot, smoothing a 6-under-par 32-34=66 to find himself in a share of second place after day one of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The Georgia Bulldog split eight (of 14) fairways en route to pelting 15 greens in regulation. A strong ball-striking display but his putter helped out, as well. Most notable was a pair of birdie splashes from just outside 10 feet. First starts are nothing new for Kirk at this event, but he's never been able to capitalize. In six previous appearances, he's opened with 67 or better, four times. However, he's never recorded a single top 20 here, a T24 in 2013 being his best. Fast starts have also been common for Kirk recently. He led by himself at The RSM Classic and co-led at the Sony Open just last month, both of them resulted in top 10s. Feb 1 - 8:08 PM
First-round co-leader and World No. 189 Chris Kirk labored to an even-par 35-35=70 in the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, falling five places to T10 on 13-under 267 and dropping to 0-for-5 when leading/co-leading after 18 holes.
After opening in 63-67-67, the 31-year-old began in solo 5th, three back of 54-hole leader Tom Hoge. Playing out of the penultimate threesome, he mustered six (of 14) fairways and 10 greens in regulation, losing 1.590 strokes off-the-tee and 0.801 approaching-the-green, but gaining 2.635 around-the-green, No. 1 in the latter with a cumulative 6.253. The Georgia alum exchanged three squares at holes 1, 4 (3-putt from 23'10") and 16, with two conventional birdie-4s at 9 and 18, adding a 28-footer from the fringe at 3 for birdie-3. He posted a pedestrian 2.000 putts per GIR and -2.073 SG: Putting with 29 total putts. This is Kirk's third top 25 and third top 10 at the Sony in eight appearances, and his second top 10 of the season in six starts, second straight. Jan 14 - 11:49 PM