Chris Kirk produced a final-round 69 at PGA National and then edged Eric Cole (67) in a playoff to win The 2023 Honda Classic.
The 37-year-old Georgia alum pulled ahead of Cole with a birdie on the par-4 16th but an untimely bogey on the par-5 closing hole dropped Kirk into a tie on 14 under.
Kirk, though, bounced back in a big way, carding a birdie-4 on the very same hole in overtime to claim his fifth career PGA Tour title and first since the 2015 Colonial.
For the win, Kirk earned $1,512,000 and 500 FedExCup points. He also picked up 32 PGA Tour world ranking points to move to No. 32 on the tour’s fake rankings.
Chris Kirk Pro-File
Full Name: Chris Kirk
Nickname: “Captain Kirk”
Nationality American
Height: 6′ 3″
Weight: 180 lbs
Birthdate: May 8, 1985 (age 37)
Native: Knoxville, TN
Residence: Athens, GA
College: U of Georgia
Wife: Tahnee
Turned Pro: 2007
PGA Tour Rookie: 2011
Highest World Rank: 16th (2015)
2023 Honda Classic
Top-10 Scores
Pos-Name-Score (Rd 4)
1. Chris Kirk -14 (-1)
2. Eric Cole -14 (-3)
3. Tyler Duncan -12 (-4)
4. Ryan Gerard -10 (-3)
5. Ben Martin -9 (-2)
5. Sepp Straka -9 (-2)
5. Ben Taylor -9 (E)
5. Shane Lowry -9 (E)
5. Justin Suh -9 (+1)
10. Dylan Wu -8 (-4)
10. David Lingmerth -8 (-3)
Top-3 Check Cashers
Pos-Name (Money)
1. Chris Kirk ($1.5m)
2. Eric Cole ($915k)
3. Tyler Duncan ($579k)
Chris Kirk’s Winning Numbers
Topline Stats
Driving: 295.7 yds (T54)
Fairways: 35/57, 61.4% (43rd)
Greens: 55/73, 75.34% (7th)
Putts/GIR: 1.636 (3rd)
Putts/Round: 28.11 (18th)
Birdies: 19 (3rd)
Strokes Gained: Total: 14.85 (T1)
Scoring
Round-By Round
Rd 1: 69 (-1, T25)
Rd 2: 62 (-9, 2nd)
Rd 3: 66 (-13, 1st)
Rd 4: 69 (-14, 1st)
Hole Scoring
Par-3: -1 (2 Birdies, 12 Pars, 2 Bogeys)
Par-4: -9 (13 Birdies, 31 Pars, 4 Bogeys)
Par-5: -4 (1 Eagle, 3 Birdies, 3 Pars, 1 Bogey)
Chris Kirk’s 2023 PGA Tour Season
Starts: 10
Cuts Made: 7
Wins: 1 (Honda)
Addtl Top 10s: 2 (3rd, T3)
Earnings: $2,638,749 (11th)
OWGR Rank Before/After: 47/32
Kirk’s Career Victories
PGA Tour: 5
2023 Honda Classic
2015 Crowne Plaza Inv. at Colonial
2014 Deutsche Bank Championship
2013 McGradrey Classic
2011 Shell Houston Open
2011 Viking Classic
Korn Ferry Tour: 3
2020 King & Bear Classic
2010 Knoxville News Open
2010 Fort Smith Classic
WITB: Chris Kirk
Chris Kirk claimed his fifth PGA Tour victory playing a mixed bag of Callaway, TaylorMade and Titleist.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9Ëš)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (15Ëš)
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth (18Ëš)
Irons: Callaway Apex (4-9)
Pitch: Callaway JAWS Raw (46°)
Gap : Callaway JAWS Raw (50°)
Sand: Titleist Vokey SM9 (56Ëš)
Lob: Titleist Vokey Wedgeworks (60Ëš)
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 5
Ball: Titleist Pro v1x
Credits: Getty Images, PGA Tour Media
