Kirk rides momentum from Honda win to early lead
ORLANDO, FLA. >> Chris Kirk is coming off an emotional win nearly eight years in the making. He carried that momentum to seven birdies at Bay Hill and a 5-under 67 for a share of the early lead Thursday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Cameron Young also had a 67 in morning conditions that might be as easy as Bay Hill gets all week. They were one shot ahead of a group that included defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth.
Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy were among those playing in the afternoon.
Kirk won the Honda Classic in a playoff just four days ago, a monumental win for the 37-year-old from Georgia who stepped away from the PGA Tour to seek help for alcoholism and depression.
It has been nonstop ever since — the Seminole ProMember on Monday, the drive north to Orlando and golf at Isleworth with longtime friend Charlie Culberson of the Tampa Bay Rays, the pro-am Wednesday and then one of the toughest tests on the Florida swing.
He was up to the task with a round that started and ended with a bogey and featured seven birdies in between.
“I've definitely been busy, and so 5:30 came early this morning and felt strange a little bit, like, `OK, we're really doing this all over again.' So felt a little bit out of in the very beginning, but then settled in and played some solid golf,” Kirk said.
It helped to hole a pair of 30-foot birdie putts, but otherwise he looked as though he didn't want to wait another eight years for his next win.
Young is waiting for his first, and it's hard to imagine this kind of talent waiting much longer. He had two close calls in the majors last year, including a 31 on the back nine of St. Andrews to finish one back at the British Open.
Young's father, David, recently retired as the longtime head pro at Sleepy Hollow in New York, and they occasionally spent weeks during the winter in Orlando near Orange Tree.