Golfweek Daily: Chris Kirk bouncing back at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

Golfweek’s Tim Schmitt is at Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic and discusses the first round of play, including Chris Kirk, who shot a first round 67, is back on the PGA Tour after some tough past few months.

Golfweek’s Tim Schmitt is at Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic and discusses the first round of play, including Chris Kirk, who shot a first round 67, is back on the PGA Tour after some tough past few months.

Chris Kirk has his PGA Tour mojo back in Detroit after Korn Ferry Tour win

Chris Kirk rolled his way to a 5-under par 67 during the opening round of the Rocker Mortgage Classic in Detroit.

DETROIT — Chris Kirk’s past has been well-documented — the four-time PGA Tour winner slipped into a cycle of anxiety and alcoholism, forcing him to take a three-month hiatus from the game in the summer of 2019.

After dealing with his issues and getting into a different headspace, the University of Georgia product assumed he’d jump back into the game and build on past successes.

That’s not exactly how it played out. Kirk missed five straight cuts leading into March, breaking 70 just once during that stretch as his game was floundering.

That’s when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and Kirk was one of the few who had taken a lengthy break in recent years. It was different, but not wildly uncomfortable for him, especially since he’d already reorganized his life to put family first.

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When the season resumed, Kirk snapped his skid of missed cuts, making it to the weekend at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, but a 75 on Sunday dropped him back to a T-60.

The following week, Kirk was the first alternate for the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Instead, he decided to play in the Korn Ferry Tour’s King & Bear Classic, marking the first time he’d played on the minor tour in a decade.

The experience was exactly what Kirk needed. He battled with Justin Lower at World Golf Village, knocking in a birdie on the 72nd hole to claim his first title of any kind in five years.

“It just gave me a little bit more belief. I think that before that, I knew that I was playing well, but obviously wasn’t seeing much in the way of results,” Kirk said. “But I was happy with my golf swing and felt like I was working on the right things with my putting, but nothing can replace the confidence you get from shooting some low numbers and playing well when it counts.”

That confidence was on display during the opening round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, as Kirk rolled his way to a 5-under par 67, putting him in solid position to not only make the cut, but make some noise this weekend.

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The native of Knoxville, Tennessee — who won the Knoxville News Sentinel Open on the then-Nationwide Tour in 2010 — opened Thursday’s round with a three-putt, but rebounded with an eagle on No. 14. He then fired birdies on Nos. 15, 17, 3, 4 and 5 (he started on the back) en route to his lowest round on Tour in almost eight months.

“I’m really happy with the way I drove it, hit a lot of good shots. A couple loose ones here and there, but overall really good,” he said. “I think my three-putting the first hole from like 15 feet probably woke me up a little bit and I was just really steady, a lot of good shots, holed some nice putts.”

Although Kirk was pleased with his opening round in Detroit, he’s realistic moving forward. Nate Lashley won this event last year by posting an impressive 25-under par, but with little wind or inclement weather in the forecast, the number to win this year will likely be something similar.

Still, Kirk is happy to be in the hunt, feeling like he has the game — and the confidence — to get back in the winner’s circle. And he’s taken to the Donald Ross design at Detroit Golf Club.

“This is just an awesome golf course. I wasn’t here last year, but yeah, from the first time going out there, it’s just such a beautiful, classic golf course, really fun greens,” Kirk said. “I just really enjoyed playing. I played well on Tuesday and I was able to keep it going today.”

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Rocket Mortgage Classic: Live blog, tee times, TV/streaming

Keep up with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with Golfweek’s live blog.

The PGA Tour resumes its revised season Thursday with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan.

The field does not include Tiger Woods, but still has plenty of talent. World No. 5 and RBC Heritage winner Webb Simpson is in the field alongside Patrick Reed (No. 7), Bryson DeChambeau (No. 10), Tony Finau (No. 17), Rickie Fowler and Jason Day.

Three players — Dylan Frittelli, Harris English and Chad Campbell — tested positive for COVID-19 in pre-tournament testing and have withdrawn from the event.

For Thursday and Fridays rounds, featured groups on Golf Channel and PGA Tour Live are the following: DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama and Reed; Day, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson; Fowler, Nate Lashley and Webb Simpson; and Sungjae Im, Tyrrell Hatton and Brandt Snedeker.


Tee times, TV | Betting odds | Fantasy picks | By the rankings


Live blog

Check for updates as this event progresses.

Live feed

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353

Tee times

1st tee

Tee time (ET) Players
6:45 a.m. James Hahn, David Hearn, Cameron Davis
6:55 a.m. Ben Martin, Zac Blair, Doc Redman
7:05 a.m. Jamie Lovemark, Robby Shelton, Scott Harrington
7:15 a.m. Keegan Bradley, Ryan Armour, Jimmy Walker
7:25 a.m. Andrew Putnam, Troy Merritt, Jason Dufner
7:35 a.m. Kevin Na, Grayson Murray, Tony Finau
7:45 a.m. Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox
7:55 a.m. Scott Stallings, Lucas Glover, Rory Sabbatini
8:05 a.m. Tom Hoge, Richy Werenski, Xinjun Zhang
8:15 a.m. Brian Harman, Bronson Burgoon, Scottie Scheffler
8:25 a.m. Adam Hadwin, Emiliano Grillo, Bo Hoag
8:35 a.m. Wes Roach, Michael Gligic, James Nicholas
8:45 a.m. Dominic Bozzelli, Ben Taylor, Kurt Kitayama
Noon Chesson Hadley, Ryan Blaum, Henrik Norlander
12:10 p.m. Seung-Yul Noh, Ricky Barnes, Tim Wilkinson
12:20 p.m. Jonathan Byrd, Wyndham Clark, Harry Higgs
12:30 p.m. Viktor Hovland, Wesley Bryan, Harold Varner III
12:40 p.m. Matthew Wolff, C.T. Pan, Vijay Singh
12:50 p.m. Brendon Todd, Bubba Watson, Jason Day
1 p.m. Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama
1:10 p.m. Luke List, Patrick Rodgers, Shawn Stefani
1:20 p.m. Matt Jones, Michael Thompson, Arjun Atwal
1:30 p.m. George McNeill, Talor Gooch, Sepp Straka
1:40 p.m. Rob Oppenheim, Kramer Hickok, Doug Ghim
1:50 p.m. Mark Anderson, Vincent Whaley, Peter Kuest
2 p.m. Peter Uihlein, Brandon Hagy, Zack Sucher

10th tee

Tee time (ET) Players
6:45 a.m. Chris Kirk, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Maverick McNealy
6:55 a.m. Bill Haas, Josh Teater, Adam Schenk
7:05 a.m. Branden Grace, Brian Gay, Sam Burns
7:15 a.m. Tyler Duncan, Pat Perez, Greg Chalmers
7:25 a.m. Kevin Tway, Michael Kim, Austin Cook
7:35 a.m. Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im, Brandt Snedeker
7:45 a.m. Webb Simpson, Nate Lashley, Rickie Fowler
7:55 a.m. Charl Schwartzel, Peter Malnati, Cameron Tringale
8:05 a.m. Bo Van Pelt, Lucas Bjerregaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
8:15 a.m. Aaron Baddeley, Beau Hossler, Roger Sloan
8:25 a.m. Kyle Stanley, Robert Streb, Joseph Bramlett
8:35 a.m. Hank Lebioda, Nelson Ledesma, Will Gordon
8:45 a.m. Chase Seiffert, Kristoffer Ventura, Chandler Phillips
Noon Brian Stuard, Scott Brown, J.J. Spaun
12:10 p.m. John Senden, Sam Ryder, Matt Wallace
12:20 p.m. Cameron Percy, Seamus Power, Erik van Rooyen
12:30 p.m. J.T. Poston, Martin Trainer, Si Woo Kim
12:40 p.m. Kevin Chappell, Danny Willett, Steve Stricker
12:50 p.m. Sebastián Muñoz, Kevin Kisner, Aaron Wise
1 p.m. Ted Potter, Jr., Hudson Swafford, Luke Donald
1:10 p.m. Matt Every, Roberto Castro, Alex Noren
1:20 p.m. Chris Stroud, Fabián Gómez, Mark Hubbard
1:30 p.m. Johnson Wagner, D.J. Trahan, Rafa Cabrera Bello
1:40 p.m. Ryan Brehm, Tyler McCumber, Chris Baker
1:50 p.m. Tom Lewis, Michael Gellerman, Sahith Theegala
2 p.m. Sebastian Cappelen, Rhein Gibson, Donnie Trosper

Viewing information

All time are listed in Eastern.

Thursday

6:45 – 8:15 a.m.: Twitter
Noon-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: Golf Channel

PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes).

Friday

6:30 a.m.-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live
6:45 – 8:15 a.m.: Twitter
Noon-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: Golf Channel

Saturday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Sunday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS