Rookie Chris Kirk posts his maiden victory at Viking Classic on PGA Tour
Chris Kirk, the 26-year-old rookie, posted his maiden victory at Viking Classic on the PGA Tour, on Sunday, July 17, taking over the seasoned PGA Tour field by one shot.
Kirk played his final round with amazing aplomb and made it appear as if he was playing one of his many amateur events. He pulled in the last hole and walked away as if nothing has happened.
“I gave a little bit of a fist pump, I think, didn't I?” Kirk said grinning. “I don't know. I made a three-inch putt to win. That's not exactly an accomplishment. All the other shots I hit were pretty good, though.”
Kirk posted a final round of four-under, 68 to add up to a mammoth aggregate of 22-under at the rain soaked Annandale Golf Club. He made his debut on PGA Tour at the Viking Classic in 2007 primarily on a sponsor’s exemption. The player failed to make the
cut back then, but made sure that this time he will leave the course with the PGA Tour card under his belt.
Kirk also collected a winner’s cheque of $648,000, alongside 250 FedEx Cup points. The points were curtailed in wake of the Open Championship being played adjacent to the PGA event.
“It's pretty amazing to think back to then, how far I've come from,” Kirk said while reminiscing about his previous ventures on the tour. “My game isn't that much better than it was then, but just the comfort level that I have now to be able to go out for
18 today and feel one hundred percent comfortable in my own skin.”
The young rookie came out of a strong season after finishing for a joint eighth on the AT&T National and a joint 22 on the John Deere Classic and was already aiming for the top slot right from the start of the season. He owed much of his success to his unblemished
performance in the third round when he pulled in a staggering eight birdies to walk into the final round with a one-shot lead.
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