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Chris Kirk ascends to take a one-shot lead on the PGA Tour at The Sentry
Chris Kirk fired a seven-under-par 66 on Saturday, with eight birdies, securing a one-shot lead over Akshay Bhatia in the US PGA Tour Sentry tournament in Kapalua, Hawaii. Despite challenging windy conditions on the Plantation course, Kirk bounced back from an early bogey with four consecutive birdies on the front nine, including a 16-foot putt on the eighth.
Adding three more birdies at the 12th, 13th, and 14th, Kirk grabbed a share of the lead and closed with a birdie at the par-five 18th to take a solo lead with a 21-under par total of 198.
Kirk commented on the day, stating, “A little bit of a slow start, for sure. Those first handful of holes with the wind direction and how strong it was are playing really difficult. We’ve had relatively calm winds, then pretty breezy today.”
“You get into holes five, six, and seven where you can take advantage of, and (I) played really great the rest of the way,” Kirk continued. Kirk ended a nearly eight-year drought by winning his fifth tour victory at the Honda Classic last year.
Kirk said that his biggest error of the day, a tee shot into the penalty area at number 15, was partly caused by the wind.
Kirk saved par with a putt from off the green. “I only hit it barely right, but with that wind blowing so hard over the left it just took it over there,” Kirk said.
“To make that one after a nice run of birdies before that kept the momentum going,” he commented.
Bhatia carded a bogey-free seven-under 66 for a total of 199, featuring a streak of three consecutive birdies and a brief lead with a 12-foot birdie at the 13th. However, he couldn’t maintain the momentum, finishing with a three-putt par at 18.
Reflecting on his round, Bhatia, a 21-year-old playing at Kapalua for the first time, said, “That’s what I’m going to think about, but it was a good day.” The tournament, boasting a $20 million purse, is open to last season’s winners and the top 50 in the previous year’s FedEx Cup.
Former champion Jordan Spieth went bogey-free with six birdies in his six-under 67, leading a trio at 200 that included Xander Schauffele and South Korean An Byeong-hun. Schauffele posted an impressive eight-under 65 with nine birdies, while An carded a 68.
World number one Scottie Scheffler, overnight leader, shot a one-under 71, joining a group three strokes off the pace at 201, along with Harris English (64), Sahith Theegala (68), and Australian Jason Day (67).
