Christopher Brandon Kirk (born May 8, 1985) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who plays on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and

Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...

. He won four tournaments on the

between 2011 and 2015. He finished second in the

2014 FedEx Cup Playoffs The 2014 FedEx Cup Playoffs was the series of four golf tournaments that determined the season champion on the U.S.-based PGA Tour. It was played from to and comprised the following four events: *The Barclays – Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, ...

and reached a career-high of 16 in the world rankings during 2015.

Early years

Born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, Kirk was reared in

Woodstock, Georgia Woodstock is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 33,039 as of 2019 according to the US Census Bureau. Originally a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Woodstock is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. ...

. He played college golf at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and was a member of their 2005

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

team. He represented the United States in the 2006 Eisenhower Trophy, where he had the joint second-lowest individual score, and in the 2007 Walker Cup. He was the

Ben Hogan Award The Ben Hogan Award is an annual prize given by Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America, since 1990, to the best college golf player in the United States. The Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas joined the organization ...

winner as a senior in 2007.

Professional career

Nationwide Tour

Kirk turned professional immediately after the 2007 Walker Cup. He played on the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental golf tour, tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at tha ...

for three seasons from

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

through

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. He was runner-up in the 2008 Knoxville Open, losing in a playoff to

Jarrod Lyle Jarrod Lyle (21 August 1981 – 8 August 2018) was an Australian professional golfer. He won twice on the 2008 Nationwide Tour. He played a number of seasons on the PGA Tour; his best finish being tied for 4th place in the 2012 Northern Trust O ...

. Kirk had a very successful season in 2010. Early in the season he lost to

Jim Herman James Robert Herman (born November 5, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Herman learned to play golf at the Shawnee Lookout course in Hamilton County. He graduate ...

in a playoff for the

Moonah Classic The Moonah Classic was a golf tournament co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Nationwide Tour. It was played for the first time from 21 to 24 February 2008 at Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. The 20 ...

and was a runner-up in the

BMW Charity Pro-Am The BMW Charity Pro-Am is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It is currently played at Thornblade Club (host course) in Greer, South Carolina and The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, South Carolina. From 1992 to 2000, the event was pl ...

. In June he won the

Fort Smith Classic The Fort Smith Classic was a golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour. It is held each year at Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was the only annual PGA Tour event in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The 2010 purse was a record $52 ...

, his first Nationwide Tour title, and followed this up with his second win at the Knoxville News Sentinel Open in August. Kirk finished the season second on the Nationwide Tour money list to earn his 2011 PGA Tour card, despite missing the end of the season with a wrist injury.

PGA Tour

As a PGA Tour rookie, Kirk finished joint second to

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters To ...

at the

Shell Houston Open The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played in November. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the ...

in April

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. Later that year, Kirk won his first tour event, the

Viking Classic The Sanderson Farms Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually in Mississippi. It moved to the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson in autumn 2014, early in the 2015 season. The tournament has been part of the P ...

, an alternate event played the same weekend as

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

. He finished a stroke ahead of runners-up

George McNeill George William McNeill Jr. (born October 2, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour with victories at the 2007 Frys.com Open and the 2012 Puerto Rico Open. Biography McNeill was born and raised in Napl ...

and

Tom Pernice Jr. Thomas Charles Pernice Jr. (born September 5, 1959) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He previously played on the PGA Tour, where he won two tournaments. Pernice was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He attende ...

, and the victory automatically qualified him for the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

, where he finished in a tie for 34th place. In his debut season on the PGA Tour, Kirk had four top-10s and finished 42nd in the end of season

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...

standings to retain his card for

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. In 2012, Kirk played in 27 events and only missed six cuts, including four top-10 finishes and best of T-4 at the RBC Canadian Open. He had a similarly very solid season in 2013, missing only four cuts, with three top-10 finishes. He finished runner-up at the

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on three different courses, currently Pebble Beac ...

, after shooting 64-66 on the weekend to finish two shots behind

Brandt Snedeker Brandt Newell Snedeker (born December 8, 1980) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2012 FedEx Cup with a victory in the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. After this victory, he moved into ...

. Kirk earned his second PGA Tour win at the

McGladrey Classic The RSM Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the autumn in Georgia. It debuted in October 2010 on St. Simons Island, Georgia at the Sea Island Golf Club. The tournament was known as the McGladrey Classic until 2015, when the ti ...

in November

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, which was part of the new wrap-around season for

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He prevailed by one stroke over

Briny Baird Michael Jancey "Briny" Baird (born May 11, 1972) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Buy.com Tour. Early life Baird was born in Miami Beach, Florida, the son of professional golfer Butch Baird. He played varsity ...

and Tim Clark. The win qualified Kirk for his first Masters; the

, which was Kirk's first victory on tour, was an alternate event and did not include a Masters invitation. 2014, Kirk won the second event of the

at the

Deutsche Bank Championship The Dell Technologies Championship was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Norton, Massachusetts, Norton, Massachusetts, United States, held annually in late summer over the Labor Day weekend. The 2018 edition was the last time the ...

in Boston for his third PGA Tour title, and jumped from 17th in FedEx Cup rankings to first. He finished tied for fourth in

The Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

, the first time he had qualified for the event, to end the season second on the FedEx Cup standings behind

Billy Horschel William John Horschel (born December 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Horschel was born and raised in Grant, Florida. He attended Bayside High School in neighborin ...

, winning three million dollars. Kirk missed out on selection for the

2014 Ryder Cup The 40th Ryder Cup matches were held 26–28 September 2014 in Scotland on the PGA Centenary Course at the Gleneagles Hotel near Auchterarder in Perth & Kinross. This was the second Ryder Cup held in Scotland; it was previously at Muirfield i ...

. He finished 14th in the Ryder Cup points list to miss out on automatic selection. The three captain's picks were announced by Tom Watson immediately after Kirk's win in the Deutsche Bank Championship. The picks did not include Kirk or

, who had finished joint runner-up, leading to some criticism of both the selections and the selection process. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, Kirk won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at

Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

. He shot 65-66 over the weekend to finish one stroke ahead of runners-up

Jason Bohn Jason Duehn Bohn (born April 24, 1973) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. He has won two PGA Tour events. Amateur career Bohn was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1992, while a sophomore on the Alabama gol ...

and

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first majo ...

. Kirk holed a six-foot (1.8 m) putt for par on the final green to claim the victory. He reached a career-high of 16th in the world rankings after this win. Soon after this win Kirk broke his hand but returned for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Kirk was in an automatic place for the

2015 Presidents Cup The 2015 Presidents Cup was the 11th Presidents Cup, played at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, South Korea from 8–11 October. It was the first time the Presidents Cup was played in Asia. The United States won for the sixth succes ...

. He lost his two four fourball matches but won in the singles. Kirk reached the quarter finals of the

2016 WGC-Dell Match Play The 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play was the 18th WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, played March 23–27 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. It was the second of four World Golf Championships in 2016. The Championship was won by Jason Day, it was ...

before losing to

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in tha ...

. In October 2016 Kirk was a joint runner-up in the

Sanderson Farms Championship The Sanderson Farms Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually in Mississippi. It moved to the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson in autumn 2014, early in the 2015 season. The tournament has been part of the PG ...

, an alternate event played opposite the

WGC-HSBC Champions The WGC-HSBC Champions was a professional golf tournament, held annually in China. Inaugurated in 2005, the first seven editions were played at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai, then moved to the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen for a single ...

tournament. The 2017 season was his worst on the PGA Tour since joining in 2011, finishing 92nd in the

. Despite having only 4 top-10 finishes, 2018 was a better season for Kirk. He only missed the cut in 5 of his 29 starts and finished 66 in the FedEx Cup.

Health

On May 7, 2019, Kirk announced that he was to take an "indefinite leave" from golf to deal with his alcohol and depression issues.

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (4)

Korn Ferry Tour wins (3)

Korn Ferry Tour playoff record (0–2)

Playoff record

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (2011 PGA – 2014 Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (once)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the

Results in World Golf Championships

''Results not in chronological before 2015.'' QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Palmer Cup The Arnold Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition for college/university golfers. From 2018 it has been contested between a United States team and an International team representing the rest of the world. The teams consist of 12 men and 12 ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

(winners) *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

(winners) Professional *

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

(winners)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Chris American male golfers Georgia Bulldogs men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Georgia (U.S. state) Golfers from Knoxville, Tennessee People from Woodstock, Georgia People from St. Simons, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area 1985 births Living people