Chris Kirk birdied the 72nd hole on Saturday to win the Korn Ferry Tour’s King & Bear Classic, by one shot over Justin Lower.
Both winner and runner up found some emotional solace in their respective finishes on a sultry Saturday at the King & Bear Classic.
Chris Kirk, a four-time PGA Tour winner who had not played on the Korn Ferry Tour since 2010, birdied the 72nd hole on a 3-foot putt to beat Justin Lower by one shot at 26-under-par 262.
Kirk (67) got up-and-down off a bank on the right side of the green, off what he called a “scraggly little lie,” and converted the birdie to win his third career Korn Ferry title and first victory since the 2015 Charles Schwab Challenge.
Lower (66) birdied his last three holes and four of his last five to make the finish interesting. His two-putt birdie at No. 18 tied him for the lead until Kirk completed the hole.
Joseph Bramlett (64), had a tie for the lead for about 45 seconds when he made the first albatross at the 18th hole, knocking a 6-iron into the cup from 230 yards out. He finished tied for third at 23-under with Will Zalatoris (68).
Chris Kirk was 1st alternate for Heritage. Might’ve taken his chances but with oversized field wasn’t getting in. Instead he made his first KFT start since 2010 and got his first win since Colonial 2015. Took personal leave least year for alcohol abuse & depression. pic.twitter.com/LsthllXEtt
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) June 20, 2020
Vince India, who had dominated the tournament for 54 holes and entered the final round with a four-shot lead over Kirk, made bogeys at Nos. 6 and 7, then added two more on the back for a shocking 76, 14 shots higher than his third round in which he tied the course record with a 62.
India finished in a tie for sixth, as did Jared Wolfe (69) of Nocatee, at 21-under.
Both Kirk and Lower saw their weeks as personal victories.
Kirk took more than three months off last year to cope with alcoholism, which he was was the product of being consumed too much by his passion for the game and burning desire to win, as the expense of all else — including his wife and three sons.
SCORES: The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village
“It gives me a deeper sense of appreciation and gratitude,” he said of the victory. “I’m just a completely different person than I was two years ago. When you’re completely out of control of your own life, it changes things. I didn’t touch a club for three-and-a-half months and was able to some help and get back on the right track. Taking that break and getting some people was able to give me some perspective that this [golf] is maybe not as important as we make it out to be.”
Lower, who admitted to being in a bad place mentally after a string of poor finishes earlier this season, held back tears twice during his post-round interview.
When asked what it meant to rally from four consecutive missed cuts to taking a seasoned PGA Tour winner to the last shot on the last hole, Lower’s voice broke and he wiped his eyes.
“Just happy,” he said. “Just happy.”
Kirk took advantage of India’s collapse to take the lead at the turn, but then gave it right back with a double-bogey from the fairway at No. 10, three-putting from 6 feet.
“I didn’t do a whole lot wrong,” he said of the hole. “It was an unfortunate situation but I needed to hit a better (first) putt.”
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