Kirk birdies his way to The Sentry trophy
• American finishes 29 under par, one stroke ahead of Sahith Theegala
Chris Kirk birdied the 15th and 17th holes to polish off an eightunder par 65 and kick off the PGA Tour season with a win at The Sentry on Sunday in Maui, Hawaii.
The American golfer was the 54-hole leader at the Plantation Course at Kapalua and expanded his advantage on Sunday with six birdies in his first 11 holes.
After Sahith Theegala made a charge on the back nine, Kirk dialled in his second shot at the par-four 17th to 75cm from the hole. The ensuing birdie let him finish at 29-under-par 263, one stroke ahead of Theegala.
Kirk made just one bogey the entire week to win $3.6m of the $20m purse at the first signature event of 2024.
He nearly hit a seven-iron at the 17th hole before changing his mind due to shifting winds and choosing his five iron. “I’m very proud of that shot, that I was able to make the right call. Talk about a tough shot to commit to.”
Starting the week as the No 52 in the world rankings, Kirk won the Honda Classic in February 2023 to end an eightyear drought between PGA Tour wins. He took leave of absence in 2019 to address mental health and addiction issues. Now he has his second win in 11 months.
“It’s 100% the reason I’m able to do what I do,” Kirk said. “I’ve said that a lot, but my PGA Tour career would have been over a while ago had I not got sober.”
Theegala rang up 10 birdies and eight pars for a 63 on Sunday but had to settle for second.
“Last year I was hurt during the off season and didn’t play any golf,” Theegala said. “This year I got a lot of work in, in the gym, a lot of work in with my coach and felt so ready for this event.
“I was so pumped for this event, and obviously, with the signature events and all that big deal, I knew it was important to get off to a fast start. Yeah, finishing second here is going to be a nice boost for the rest of the West Coast swing.”
Jordan Spieth, who scored 65 on Sunday, got in the mix before finishing in third at 27 under par. He lamented misreading a 14-foot eagle putt on the par-five’ 18th, though even that wouldn t have been enough to catch Kirk.
“If you told me [I’d shoot] eight under at the beginning of the day, I would have thought Chris probably betters six under, but playing with the lead in the last group, maybe eight was in a playoff, was kind of where my head was at,” Spieth said. “There was just some phenomenal golf played everywhere.”
Byeong Hun An of South Korea went five under for his last six holes — one eagle, one bogey, four birdies — to shoot a 66 and place fourth at 26 under.
South Korea’s Sungjae Im joined Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Brian Harman and JT Poston at 25 under in a tie for fifth. Jason Day of Australia and Xander Schauffele finished 10th at 24 under.