Chris Kirk

Kirk was born in Atlanta but subsequently moved to Woodstock, Georgia. He played college golf at the University of Georgia and was a member of the school's 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship team, along with Kevin Kisner, Richard Scott, and Brendon Todd. Winner of the 2007 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the nation's top college golfer. Also won two SEC team titles. Set a school record with seven individual victories, four of which came during his senior season. Earned first-team All-American honors his junior and senior years. Earned second-team All-American honors as a sophomore. Three-time, first-team All-SEC selection. Set the school record with a 70.90 scoring average during his junior season and tied the school record with 10 top-10 finishes. For his career, finished with 24 top-10 finishes, only three shy of Chip Beck's school record. His 71.89 career stroke average was just shy of the school record 71.79, held by former Nationwide Tour member Erik Compton. Capped his amateur career by representing the U.S. at the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down G.C. in Northern Ireland. Played in the 2015 Presidents Cup.
Played his rookie season on the Web.com Tour in 2008, finishing 77th on the money list. Made 10 cuts in 19 starts, including three top-25 finishes. Shot 66, making him one of the first-round leaders, with Arjun Atwal and Jarrod Lyle, at the Knoxville Open. Birdied the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Lyle, who defeated him with a birdie on the first playoff hole. The runner-up finish with a $54,000 check moved him to 42nd on the money list at the time.
2008 Web.com Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 19; In Money - 10; Top-10 Finishes - 1; Stroke Average - 71.70 (rank 102nd); Money - $88,441 (rank 77th); Best Finish - 2nd, Knoxville Open.
2009 Web.com Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 13; In Money - 4; Top-10 Finishes - 0; Stroke Average - 71.20 (rank 96th); Money - $13,606 (rank 178th); Best Finish - T-25th, Nationwide Tour Players.
2010 Web.com Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 21; In Money - 17; Top-10 Finishes - 7; Stroke Average - 69.05 (rank 1st); Money - $411,206 (rank 2nd); Best Finish ââ?¬â?? 1st, Fort Smith Classic, Knoxville News Sentinel Open. The season ended when he injured his left wrist, forcing him to miss the final two events and derailing any chance he had of winning the money title. Still, his high finish on the money list got him a PGA Tour card for 2011.
2011 Notes: Enjoyed a banner year on the PGA Tour, claiming four top-10 finishes, highlighted by his first career win at the Viking Classic. Also had a runner-up finish at the Shell Houston Open, finished 42nd in the FedExCup race and 45th on the money list with earnings of $1,877,627.
2012 Notes: Compiled four top-10 finishes. His first came at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Next was a T-5th finish at Crown Plaza Colonial, followed by a T-10th when he defended his Viking Classic title. The next week, he had his best finish of the year, a T-4th at the RBC Canadian Open. For the year, ranked 49th in the FedExCup race and 78th on the money list.
2013 Notes: Got off to a quick start, finishing T-5th at the Sony Open and runner-up at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Added his third top-10 of the season, as he played well at the Sanderson Farms Championship (T-9th), the third time in a row he has finished in the top-10 at that event. Ended the year 34th on the FedExCup list and 47th on the money list.
2014 Notes: In the new wraparound schedule, won the McGladrey Classic by one shot over Tim Clark and Briny Baird. Led going into the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii and shot a solid 66, but was defeated by Jimmy Walker, who shot 63. Kirk finished 2nd. Was T-4th at The Memorial, where he shot 10 under par. In the FedExCup Playoffs, finished T-53rd at The Barclays. The next week, he entered the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship trailing fellow Georgia Bulldog Russell Henley by two shots. Closed with a 5-under-par 66 for a two-shot win over Henley, Geoff Ogilvy and Billy Horschel for his third-career PGA Tour victory and second of the season. With the win, Kirk moved from No. 17 into the top spot in the FedExCup rankings heading into the BMW Championship, where he finished T-36th to maintain his first-place spot. Would have won the FedExCup with a victory at East Lake. Shot rounds of 66-68-71-68, but finished T-4th, four strokes behind champion Horschel, who won the FedExCup playoffs. Kirk was runner-up behind Horschel in the FedExCup race and 6th in the money race.
2015 Notes: Played in 21 PGA Tour events making 17 cuts and in the top-ten, 3 times. In defense of his McGladrey Classic title, finished T-4th, two shots out of the playoff won by Robert Streb. The second top-10 finish was a T-8th at the Valero Texas Open. Won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial by one shot over Jordan Spieth, Jason Bohn, and Brandt Snedeker. Ended the year 44th in the FedExCup standings and 35th on the money list. Went 1-2-0 in his three Presidents Cup matches.
2016 Notes: Played in 28 PGA Tour events making 18 cuts and finishing in the top-ten, 3 times. Had his first top-10, losing in the quarterfinals (T-5th) to Rory McIlroy 4 & 3. Was T-5th at the Zurich Classic at New Orleans and was T-10th at the BMW Championship. Finished 54th in the FedExCup race and was 56th on the money list.
2017 Notes: Made the cut in 17 of 28 starts during the 2016-17 season. Had a great fall run, starting his year with a T-8th finish at the Safeway Open, then T-2nd a the Sanderson Farms Championship finishing 4 back of winner Cody Gribble. After a T-61st at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open was T-7th at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. After that, his best finish for the rest of the year was a T-12th at the Players Championship. Finished 92nd in the final FedExCup ranking.
2018 Notes: T-4th at the RSM Classic, T-6th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.