At 37, American Chris Kirk had to dig deep to finally win the Honda Classic on Sunday on the first overtime hole ahead of the tenacious Eric Cole. Kirk thus ended a drought of almost eight years without a victory, his last dating back to the Crowne Plaza tournament in 2015.
It was far from easy for Kirk who was leading by two shots heading into the final round. He had the situation well in hand with only one hole to go, but an erratic second shot on the 18th was to lead to a bogey that forced him to share first place with his compatriot Eric Cole, a 34-year-old rookie. The latter impressed many during this tournament, even coming close to perfection on putts from less than 20 feet. He also has a perfect record of 49 for 49 on putts from 5 feet and under during the four rounds of the tournament.
Eric Cole is the son of Laura Baugh and Bobby Cole, two former competitive professionals who made their mark on the LPGA and PGA Tour in the 70s and 80s. a few years before returning to it full time. His progress may have been slowed down by a few seasons, but he has still proven that he has the talent to play at the highest level. Thanks to his 2nd place at the Honda Classic, he received his best purse of his career, which is $915,600. He also moved up to 33rd in the FedEx Cup standings.
As for Chris Kirk, he seemed to fully savor this 5th career victory after such a long wait. He played very methodically and wedged several putts from over 15 feet which ultimately made all the difference. Kirk rushes off with disconcerting ease, without apparent effort. His tempo is the same from swing to swing, no matter what stick he uses. His performance allowed him to pocket $1,512,000 and climb to 6th place overall.
The most beautiful surprise of the tournament, however, remains the excellent performance of young Ryan Gerard, a player from the qualification on Monday during which only 4 players reach the main draw. Gerard won the Omnium du Québec, played at Le Blainvillier club last summer. Following his success on the Canadian circuit, he graduated to the Korn Ferry circuit this year. He is currently ranked 22nd. Remember that at the end of the 2023 season, the top 25 are invited to join the PGA Tour for the 2024 season. Thanks to his 4th place at the Honda Classic, Gerard receives an invitation to play in the Puerto Rico tournament the next week, a regular tournament taking place alongside the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Gerard also received the best purse of his young career, ie 411,600 dollars. His progress is dazzling, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if he finished the season on the big circuit. We will follow him closely in Puerto Rico.
Make way for the Arnold Palmer Invitational
The crème de la crème of professional golf will be in action starting Thursday as the Arnold Palmer Invitational takes place on the beautiful Bay Hill course in Orlando, Florida. This prestigious tournament offers a total purse of 20 million dollars, of which 3.6 million will be awarded to the winner. All eyes will be on the Spaniard Jon Rahm, world number 1 player who already claims 3 victories this year. Rory McIlroy and Max Homa are also favorites to win this edition. Note that the top 20 players in the FedEx Cup leaderboard are all registered for this competition.
You will be able to follow the progress of the 3rd and 4th rounds, Saturday and Sunday, on the waves of RDS… it promises!
