Kirk captures Sentry title
He denies Theegala, Spieth to win opener
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Chris Kirk finds joy in golf from the work that’s required and how hard it is to succeed, and Sunday at The Sentry was plenty difficult.
A dozen players were lined up behind him, all capable of ripping off a low one. The conditions were so placid the final round produced the lowest scoring average (66.67) since the PGA Tour started keeping detailed records in 1983.
Tougher still was being tied for the lead, 209 yards away on the 17th hole with a gorge between him and the flag and a light wind that felt like it was blowing both directions.
Kirk went from a 7-iron to a 5-iron and hit what he considers the best shot of his career to 2 feet for birdie that sent him to an 8-under-par 65 and a one-shot victory over Sahith Theegala.
“When you’re about to pull 7 and you end up hitting 5, that doesn’t happen ever. That never happens,” he said. “So to be able to commit to it like I did and make that good of a swing was an incredible feeling.”
Theegala stayed with him until his 10-foot birdie putt swirled in and out, forcing him to settle for a 63. Jordan Spieth was tied for the lead when his tee shot on the 16th plugged into the sand below the lip, effectively a one-shot penalty. He just missed a 15-foot eagle on the final hole and shot 65 to finish third.
Kirk’s tap-in birdie on the toughest hole on the back nine allowed him to play the 18th conservatively, knowing a par would be enough.
He finished at 29-under 263 and won $3.6 million from the $20 million purse, the first of eight signature events in the new model of big purses and elite fields.
The 38-year-old from Georgia looks as relaxed as anyone. His greatest win remains his recovery from alcoholism and depression, which led to him step away for six months of treatment in 2019.
The victory secured him a spot in the Masters and allows him to book a return trip to Kapalua to start next year.
Akshay Bhatia began one shot behind but sent his opening tee shot into the native grass. He never found the ball, returned return to the tee, had a double bogey, and was never in the mix.
Spieth stayed in the hunt with five straight birdies around the turn. He caught up to Kirk and Theegala with birdies on 14 and 15. And then his chances all but ended with one swing.
His drive on the 16th found a bunker that divides the fairways, but it plugged right beneath the face, leaving him no chance but to chop out sideways. He missed a 12-foot par putt and didn’t have enough holes left to atone for it.
Theegala made birdie on the 16th, and Spieth’s bogey suddenly dropped him three shots behind. Theegala had a one-shot lead with that birdie. Kirk made par from just short of the reachable par-4 14th, with a pedestrian pitch that came up 18 feet shy for a two-putt par. He also missed a 12-foot birdie chance on the 16th to regain the lead.
Sungjae Im got into the PGA Tour record books with 34 birdies for the week. The previous record for a 72-hole tournament was 32 set three times, most recently last year by Jon Rahm.