Chris Kirk is one of the most resilient golfers in the world.
Personal issues have kept Kirk off the golf course over the past few years, something he's not afraid to admit. But he stayed true to himself, and in doing so he returned to being a top player on the PGA Tour.
Last year, Kirk won the 2023 Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, his first win since 2015. For that reason, the PGA Tour awarded Kirk its Courage Award at the 2023 RSM Classic.
The victory in South Florida earned him a spot in this week's Sentry on Maui, and Kirk made the most of the opportunity.
Despite struggling out of the gate, Kirk maintains a 54-hole lead over Akshay Bhatia with a one-stroke lead at 21 under. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth is tied with Xander Schauffele and Byung-hoon Ahn at 19 under par.
Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day, Sahit Segala and Harris English are lurking at 18 under.
When asked how he would rate the third round, Kirk said, “It was definitely a bit of a slow start.”
“The first few holes were actually really difficult to play because of the wind direction and how strong the wind was. The wind was relatively calm, but today it got really windy. It's a little tough because you've been playing for so long. But I played through that period.”
Kirk started with par, par and bogey.
Kirk quickly found himself in a hole as Kapalua made a string of birdies. But, true to Kirk's character, once he reached the par-5 fifth he bounced back with authority.
“When you get into No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, there are some holes you can take advantage of. [you can make birdies],” he added.
“He played really well the rest of the game.”
Kirk started at No. 5 and broke par four times in a row. Just like that, he went from 1 over to 3 under in the round and was back in contention.
Three more birdies followed at the 12th, 13th and 14th, and by the time he reached the par-5 15th, Kirk was at 6 under for the day and 20 under for the day.
He took the lead.
Kirk then tried to attack the easy dogleg right par 5. The move didn't pay off, as his drive caught his limb and landed in the penalty area on the right side of the fairway.
“I didn't hit that bad of a drive,” Kirk said. “Compared to the lines I've had the last few days, I just didn't adjust as much as I needed to with the wind.”
“I just barely hit it to the right, but the wind was so strong from the left that it flew that way.”
Even though Kirk hit his third shot from 326 yards out. I managed to save par. To keep his momentum going.
“It was definitely a relief,” Kirk said of the par save.
“Captain Kirk” made another birdie on the par-5 18th hole and finished with a 7-under 66.
He holds the 54-hole lead for the seventh time in his PGA Tour career.
To date, he has 3 to 6 with 54 hole lead conversion Last year's Honda Classic is the most recent win.
“I know it sounds stupid and cliché, but I just do what I have to do,” Kirk said when asked about holding a lead overnight.
“Tomorrow I might play great, someone else might play a little bit better. There's only so much you can control… to come here and enjoy Hawaii and be here in this warm weather.” It's fun just being able to take a nice free swing in the field. I've always loved coming here.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
