After overcoming a long period of doubt and depression linked to his excessive alcohol consumption, Chris Kirk returned to success this Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens (Florida), almost 8 years after his previous victory.
It had been 2,836 days since Chris Kirk had been waiting for this moment: he was therefore not one step away from removing this Honda Classic , but he could have done without it!
After putting his ball in the water on the 72nd hole, the American recalled that he had gone through much more difficult times to finally dominate his compatriot. Eric Cole on the first shoot-off hole.
“I was obviously very, very nervous today, having not won in such a long time, but I think I did well,” said Kirk, 37, after a masterful final approach that was synonymous with a 5th victory. on the PGA Tour .
We have to go back to May 2015 to find traces of its previous success. It was at Colonial . In the meantime, the Atlanta native had to overcome a difficult ordeal to overcome a depression during which he confessed to having lost almost everything.
Back through the back door in 2021
So much so that in 2019, Chris Kirk, who had won the USA four years earlier in the Presidents Cup, completely withdrew from the circuit to undergo treatment and fight his addiction to alcohol.
Returning to the Tour thanks to a medical exemption which allowed him to recover in extremis a right to play at the SonyOpen in 2021, Kirk obviously had a lot of people to thank at the end of his day.
“I have so much to be grateful for. I’m so thankful for my sobriety, I’m so thankful for my family, I’m so thankful for everyone who has supported me over the past three or four years. »
The end of the tunnel
In addition to earning him $1,512,000, this success opens the doors to Masters for the first time since 2016. Enough to look to the future with a smile.
The life of his courageous opponent beaten in a barrage will also change.
Thanks to his second place, Eric Cole pockets $915,600, a check that represents more than double what he earned in 14 years on the circuit. Enough to partially erase the disappointment of a particularly cruel last putt.
Another American completes the podium. It was Tyler Duncan who was ranked 360th in the world before the tournament. Finally, “Qualifying Monday” Ryan Gerard , who made his first cut on the PGA Tour on Friday, took fourth place with a 67 card on Sunday.—
Coin Lowry
Note that the first Europeans in this ranking are the Austrian defending champion Sepp Straka Englishman Ben Taylor and the winner of the last BMW PGA Championship the Irishman Shane Lowry .
A little disappointed by his performance in this last round (70), the RyderCup player admitted not having “Never managed to start. The 2019 British Open winner was reluctant to line up after his uncle passed away earlier this week .
The three Europeans finished in 5th place alongside the leader after two laps, the big-hearted American Justin Suh.
Meronk remains at the dock
Finally, it should be noted that the Australian Min Woo Lee narrowly saved his place in the world top 50 thanks to a card of 66, thus offering himself the guarantee of being at the start of the Players in 15 days. This is not the case with Adrien Meronk .
The Pole is 52nd on Monday and will therefore not be able to take part in this prestigious meeting on the famous course of the TPC Sawgrass .
The video summary of the 4th round
Classification
They missed the cut
source: dayfr
