Tag: King & Bear Classic

Chris Kirk ends five-year victory drought at King & Bear Classic

Third-round leader Vince India closed with a 76, 14 shots higher than his Friday score, when he tied the course record with a 62.

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).

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.”

[lawrence-related id=778050298,778050262,778050248,778050225]

Vince India breaks Korn Ferry Tour 54-hole mark, eyes 72-hole record

Ex-Iowa standout has missed only five fairways this week, is 12 of 13 getting up-and-down and not required more than 26 putts in a round.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Vince India has a goal and he didn’t mind sharing it.

“I want 30-under [par],” he said after another dominating day at the Korn Ferry Tour’s King & Bear Classic on Friday. “That would be pretty cool.”

It would also match the Korn Ferry Tour record for 72 holes.

India already has the 54-hole mark in relation to par and as the field has proven this week, almost any number is possible.India and the rest of the leaders continued their assault on the King & Bear course in the third round and with four birdies on his last six holes, the University of Iowa graduate tied the course record with a 62 and finished at 25-under-par 191, four shots ahead of four-time PGA Tour winner Chris Kirk (64), and six shots clear of Will Zalatoris (66), Justin Lower (67) and Dawson Armstrong (67).
Jared Wolfe (63) and Wes Roach (67) are tied at 18-under.

SCORES: The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village

India, who was one of four players who tied the previous course record of 63 that Brett Coletta set early in Wednesday’s first round, signed for his 62 just minutes after Austin Smotherman shot that number, finishing on the front nine.But indicative of how low the scores are this week is that Smotherman could only work his way up to a tie for 13th at 16-under.

“Going off the back nine, in the third round. … no pressure,” said Smotherman, an SMU product who holds the course record of 60 at Trinity Forest in his hometown of Dallas.

India has missed only five fairways in three rounds, and is 12 of 13 getting up-and-down for par after missing the green. He has not required more than 26 putts in a round this week.

“Stick to my plan,” he said. “Fairways and greens. There are a lot of opportunities. I’m putting so well that I feel like I can make it from anywhere. As long as I get it on the green I feel like I have a good birdie shot.”

India broke the 54-hole record of 24-under held by Arjun Atwal (2008 Chattanooga Classic), Tommy Gainey (2010 Chiquita Classic) and Martin Piller (2015 Albertsons Boise Open).

His 191 tied for fifth-lowest in Korn Ferry Tour history.

Two players have shot India’s goal of 30-under for 72 holes: Daniel Chopra in the 2004 Henrico County Open and Stephan Jaeger in the 2006 Ellie Mae Classic. Chopra’s score came on a par-72 course.

The field averaged 68.175 in the third round (3.825 under par), the lowest in relation to par on the Korn Ferry Tour since the second round of the 1997 Puget Sound Open.

India kick-started his round with a 15-foot eagle putt at No. 5, then birdied the rest of the holes on the front nine for a five-hole streak at 6-under.
He made a bogey at No. 12, but then birdied Nos. 13, 14, 16 and 18 — missing a 6-foot eagle attempt at the last.

Trying to keep pace was Kirk, who couldn’t get into the field at the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage this week, and dropped down to play his first Korn Ferry tournament since 2010, when he was second on the money list to earn a PGA Tour card he has never relinquished since then.

“There’s a ton of really, really great players out here, a ton of really good young guys who just smash the ball,” Kirk said. “I felt that way 10 years ago when I made the step up to the PGA Tour and it doesn’t feel like there is much difference this week. I see the same exact thing. The cut was 6-under and it was almost 7-under. These guys know how to make some birdies.”
Wolfe tied the course record early and was in solo second at the time he finished.

It didn’t take long for him to drop four spots.

“It’s been a fun week so far, fun to see the ball go where I want it to go,” said Wolfe, whose score on Friday was 16 shots lower than his second-round score last week at the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass, where he missed the cut after a 79 at Dye’s Valley.

[lawrence-related id=778050090,778050053,778050046]

Brett Coletta, Vince India each fire course records to lead Korn Ferry Tour King & Bear Classic

Brett Coletta and Vince India book-ended course records about seven hours apart on Wednesday and shared the lead in the King & Bear Classic.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Brett Coletta and Vince India book-ended course records about seven hours apart on Wednesday and shared the lead in the Korn Ferry Tour King & Bear Classic.

Coletta, an Australian playing in the first group of the day to tee off No. 10 at the King & Bear course, birdied three of his first four holes and knocked in a 10-foot eagle putt at No. 18 after his approach shot slammed against the top of the flagstick, and finished with a 9-under-par 63.

India, a rare University of Iowa graduate at the upper levels of professional golf, teed off about two hours after Coletta finished and birdied five of his last seven holes to match the record previously held by Hugh Biaocchi in the 2002 Legends of Golf, Thongchai Jaidee in a 2003 PGA Tour second-stage qualifier, and Austin Hitt in a 2017 U.S. Amateur qualifier.

“I didn’t know it was a course record until [he was informed in scoring] so I’m pretty happy with that,” said Coletta, an Australian who also set his professional record for 18 holes. “It is nice to be in the first group out. … good pace of play out there for us. I got off to a real hot start and that followed through the whole round, really.”

Coletta missed only one fairway and hit all 18 greens. India missed only one fairway and two greens.

“I gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie and was pretty committed to my target,” said India, who tied for 10th last week in the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass. “Obviously that gave me a little confidence. I think my plan is going to minimize bogeys because you’re going to make birdies out here, four, five six a round. If you limit yourself to one bogey, or play bogey-free, you’ll make up a lot of ground on some people.”

On an unseasonably moderate June day in northeast Florida, with light wind throughout, Coletta and India finished two shots ahead of seven players at 7-under 65: Jared Wolfe, No. 6 on the Korn Ferry points list; Will Zalatoris, the 54-hole leader last week at Dye’s Valley; Ryan McCormick, who had to Monday qualify last week and then gained the King & Bear field by trying for 14th; Air Force Academy graduate Tom Whitney; former LSU players Zach Wright; Canadian Taylor Pendrith; and Justin Lower.

On a day when the course co-designed by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus was ripe for the taking, 15 players are at 6-under, led by Davis Riley, second on the Korn Ferry points list, John Chin, seventh in points, and four-time PGA Tour winner Chris Kirk.

There are 23 players within three shots of the lead entering the second round.

The scoring average of 69.577 was the lowest first round on the Korn Ferry Tour this season.

“Obviously a fun day,” said Wolfe, who missed the cut last week at the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass at 14-over. “The greens were receptive. They were drying out a little but the wind wasn’t really a factor until [he had six holes left].”

Coletta has been aching for some good fortune. He missed three cuts and withdrew in his only four starts this season before the Korn Ferry Tour was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic, and last year made only 8-of-22 cuts.

But when he does reach the weekend, good things often happen. If his eight made cuts last year as a Korn Ferry rookie, Coletta finished among the top-12 five times, with three top-10s.

“It is about taking your time and pacing yourself out there, because it is such a long season,” he said.

A little luck also helps. One example was at No. 18, when Coletta stepped on a 3-iron from 230 yards out. The ball came in hot and smacked into the top of the pin, then fell to within 10 feet.

He made the eagle putt, then turned and birdied four of his first seven holes on the front nine, his back.

India birdied four of five holes on the front, then birdied five of his last seven. His last two birdies were inside the leather on any weekend game, 6 inches at No. 17 and 1 foot at No. 18.

[lawrence-related id=778048869]