Chris Kirk won the American Professional Golf (PGA) Tour Honda Classic (total prize money of 8.4 million dollars) against Eric Cole (USA) after an overtime match, recording his 5th win on the tour in 8 years.
On the 27th (Korean time), at the PGA National Champion Course (par 70, 7322 yards) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA, Kirk hit the third shot on the side of the hole at the 547-yard par-5 18th hole, where the 4th round overtime was held. He let out a sigh of relief.
On this day, which was ever-changing, Kirk finished with a birdie putt, adding a win in 7 years, 9 months and 2 days since the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2015.
Even when he tied 4 birdies and 3 bogeys and finished the 4th round with a 1-under 69, tied for the lead with Eric Cole, the bogey on the 18th hole might have shimmered in front of his eyes, but in the end it was a happy ending.
On this afternoon, when he entered the game with a two stroke lead, Kirk may have had a premonition of winning for the first time in a long time. I started with a birdie on the first hole and exchanged it for a bogey birdie on holes 2 and 3. He added a birdie on the 8th hole, but the pursuit of rookie Cole was relentless.
In the par 4 13th hole, the tee shot was pushed to the right and the view was written down to take the lead. However, he added a birdie on the 16th hole and managed to turn around by one stroke.
On the last hole, where he started with a one-stroke lead, his second shot hit a rock in front of the green and entered the lake. Even if it flew a few more centimeters, it would have been an eagle chance, but it was bad luck.
The closest drop location where the ball was not close to the green was 138 yards to the hole. He shot his fourth shot, but missed a putt from 5.5 meters away, finished bogey, and went into overtime with a tie for the lead.
Overtime was played on a bogeyed hole, and Kirk’s tee shot missed the fairway and came to rest next to a tree. It was a crisis again. After laying up the second shot, Kirk made a comeback by putting the third shot from 100 meters right next to the hole.
Rookie Eric Cole is the son of 1977 Buick Open champion Bobby Cole. He finished second on the day with 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. Although he is not tall, he ignited the pursuit of the lead by catching three consecutive birdies from the 3rd hole, and with solid play, he took the lead by catching birdies on the 11th and 13th holes in the second half, and predicted the victory. 메이저놀이터
However, at the par 3 15th hole, the first gateway to the bear trap, he missed the lead by writing down a bogey while making a mistake on a bunker shot, and it was unfortunate that he ended up par because he went into overtime and went into the bunker after the second shot on the green. He is also an excellent scrambling player, but he blew his first win with two bunker shots.
The tournament, which lasted 42 years and ends this year, has had four overtime matches, with Justin Thomas winning in overtime in 2018.
Tyler Duncan (USA) finished 3rd (12 under par) with a 4 under par 66, and Korean-American Justin Seo, who took the lead in the second round, lost one stroke and finished tied for 5th place (9 under par).
Among Korean players, Ahn Byeong-hun (32) tied for 21st (5 under par) with 3 birdies and 6 bogeys and a 3-over-par 73. Lim Seong-jae (25), the champion of this tournament three years ago, hit even par two days in a row and finished in a tie for 42nd place (2 under par), and Kim Seong-hyun (25) tied for 63rd place (2 over par) with 1 over par.