Ex-Bulldog ties for second behind Mickelson
By Mike Blum
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution may not know who Chris Kirk is, but golf fans who watched the Shell Houston Open were introduced to one of the PGA Tour’s many budding young stars.
Kirk grew up in the Cherokee County community of Woodstock, was one of the top players in the long history of the U. of Georgia golf team, and now lives on St. Simons Island.
He was a contender from the first day of the Houston Open to the 72nd hole, ending up in a tie for the second behind Phil Mickelson. Despite his strong ties to the state, the AJC never identified him even though he was mentioned in the Associated Press stories that ran in the AJC after each round, most prominently following the second round when he was leading the tournament outright.
Kirk has been a national caliber player since his days in junior golf, and has enjoyed considerable success at every level in which he competed. He struggled a bit during his first two years as a professional, but finished second on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2010, and his runner-up finish in Houston stamped him as a contender for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors.
Houston was not the first tournament Kirk has contended in during his rookie season. In just his second start as a PGA Tour member, Kirk tied for seventh in the Bob Hope Classic, finishing four shots out of a playoff won by Jhonattan Vegas, the current favorite for Rookie of the Year.
After his strong showing in the Hope, Kirk did not turn in another top finish for more than two months, and he addressed his struggles after taking the lead midway through the Houston Open.
“I had my two worst tournaments of the past couple years the last two weeks (at Tampa and Bay Hill),” Kirk said. “I was just kind of in a little bit of a funk, I guess. I don’t feel like I was playing that bad of golf. I just lost interest somehow.
“That’s horrible for me to say that as a PGA Tour player – and I have the best job in the world — but I did. I got to the point where I would make a couple of bogeys and felt like I didn’t want to be out there. And so I went home this past weekend and just tried to change basically as many things as possible to try to spark my interest.”
After his outstanding performance on the Nationwide Tour in 2010, Kirk said he was hesitant to change equipment, but put some new Titleist clubs in his bag prior to Houston, and the decision paid immediate dividends.
Thanks to his tie for second, Kirk earned $519,200 and plenty of FedExCup and World Ranking points.
Kirk moved up from 83rd on the PGA Tour money list to 29th, and his earnings for the year ($779,000 at the time) are less than $10,000 short of the total required to finish 125th on the money list last year. He was 23rd in FedExCup points (up from 68th) and cracked the top 100 in the World Rankings for the first time, vaulting from 137 to 87.
“This kind of sets me up for the rest of the year,” Kirk said. “I was already in pretty good shape, but this just makes it a little better.”
Unlike almost all the other PGA Tour rookies, Kirk no longer has to worry about his standing on the money list relative to retaining his playing privileges. He will be looking to maintain his current lofty ranking in order to qualify for the two major events that will be played in Atlanta later this year.
Kirk needs to finish among the top 70 players on a money list that spans a calendar year from the 2010 to 2011 PGA Championships in order to make it into the field at Atlanta Athletic Club in August. His tie for second in Houston moved him up to 66 from 131. He can also qualify for the event if he remains in the top 100 in the World Ranking.
Although he was only 16 years old the last time Atlanta AC hosted the PGA Championship, this will not be the first time Kirk has competed on the club’s Highlands Course in a national championship.
Kirk competed in the 2003 U.S. Junior Amateur at AAC, advancing to match play before losing in the second round.
To qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake in September, Kirk will need to remain in the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, and that would also earn him a spot in the 2012 Masters.
Unless he moves into the top 50 in the World Rankings just prior to the U.S. Open, Kirk will have to compete in sectional qualifying for the event. He has qualified for the Open twice in the last three years, making the cut in 2008.
Prior to his rookie season, Kirk had competed in nine PGA Tour events, with his best finish a tie for 15th in last year’s inaugural McGladrey Classic at Sea Island GC. Kirk received a sponsor’s exemption after an exceptional year on the Nationwide Tour, but suffered an injury shortly after competing at Sea Island, and was unable to play in the Nationwide Tour Championship, denying him a chance to finish the year as the tour’s No. 1 player.
Kirk played on the Nationwide Tour in both 2008 and ’09, but did not play especially well either year other than a near victory in ’08 in Knoxville, when he lost in a playoff. He scored one of his two victories last year in Knoxville, the other coming in Fort Smith, Ark.
During his short stint as a tour player, Kirk has twice reached the finals of PGA Tour qualifying, but failed to earn his PGA Tour card on either occasion, although his play at Q school in 2007 earned him a spot on the Nationwide Tour the next year.
Kirk was able to skip Q school after his play on the Nationwide Tour last year, and thanks to his runner-up finish in Houston, won’t have to worry about keeping his PGA Tour playing privileges in 2012.
After an opening round 66 placed him among the leaders, Kirk moved into first place with a second round 69. He took the lead during the round before making a double bogey on his 13th hole after driving into a hazard. Thanks to birdies on his final two holes, he held the outright lead going to the weekend.
Playing in the final group in the third round, Kirk withstood the pressure to shoot another 69 that could have been several shots lower. He hit 16 of 18 greens and described the round as “one of the better ball striking rounds I’ve ever had. I just really didn’t make anything all day.
“I had so many chances. After you miss a few, you kind of lose a little bit of confidence.”
After two days of what he termed “incredible” putting, Kirk was still hopeful heading to the final round, and responded with a 67 that included just his fourth bogey of the week.
Kirk closed out the tournament with four birdies on his final nine holes, and said he was “very happy with my back nine and my ball striking all around. I didn’t make a whole lot on the front nine, which could have really got me up there. But I certainly wouldn’t complain.”
Then highlight of Kirk’s round was a chip-in birdie from a difficult lie on the 16th that enabled him to tie veteran Scott Verplank for second at 17-under 271, three strokes behind Mickelson.
Kirk had played at Redstone GC during his college days at Georgia, where he enjoyed a memorable career. He helped lead the Bulldogs to a national championship as a sophomore in 2005, and was a second team All-America selection that season, earning first team honors as a junior and senior.
As a senior, Kirk was presented with the Ben Hogan Award as the country’s top collegiate golfer, and shares Georgia career victory mark with seven individual titles, four as a senior. That helped earn him a spot on the victorious 2007 U.S. Walker Cup team.