Chris Kirk entered the final day of the 2023 PGA Honda Classic with a slim lead. At the end of the day, he didn’t even have an advantage at all. He finished tied with Eric Cole, which caused a tiebreaker with the latter.
Kirk and Cole dueled in the tiebreaker, which ended with Kirk a shot ahead of his competitor. Although both golfers finished at -14, Kirk took home the win after a hard-fought playoff round.
Here’s how the final standings turned out, plus prize money and more.
Chris Kirk tops Honda Classic standings for 2023
Chris Kirk landed on top of the Honda Classic leaderboard, which will only help his overall OWGR ranking. He is currently ranked 32nd in the world, behind only Sahith Theegala and Tom Hoge.
Here’s how the rankings turned out, plus who won what as a result:
- Winner: Chris Kirk, -14, $1,512,000
- P-2: Eric Cole, -14, $915,600
- 3: Tyler Duncan, -12, $579,600
- 4: Ryan Gerard, -10, $411,600
- T-5: Ben Martin, -9, $288,120
- T-5: Sepp Straka, -9, $288,120
- T-5: Justin Suh, -9, $288,120
- T-5: Shane Lowry, -9, $288,120
- T-5: Ben Taylor, -9, $288,120
- T-10: Dylan Wu, -8, $220,500
- T-10: David Lingmerth, -8, $220,500
- T-12: Zach Johnson, -7, $186,900
- T-12: Cameron Percy, -7, $186,900
- T-14: Brandon Wu, -6, $136,500
- T-14: Jim Herman, -6, $136,500
- T-14: Stephen Jaeger, -6, $136,500
- T-14: Lee Hodges, -6, $136,500
- T-14: Adrian Meronk, -6, $136,500
- T-14: Ryan Brehm, -6, $136,500
- T-14: Kramer Hickok, -6, $136,500
It was a very close tournament, which resulted in an epic playoff to end it all.
Kirk said via News10:
“Obviously I was very, very nervous today not having won in so long. Coming down the stretch, I felt good. I have a lot to be thankful for. I am very thankful for my sobriety, I am very thankful for my family, I am very thankful for everyone who has supported me over the last three or four years.”
Kirk hadn’t won a PGA Tour event in eight years, so this was an absolutely monumental occasion for the golfer.
Eric Cole nearly extended the postseason, but his shot went wide, ultimately giving Kirk his first win in nearly a decade.
Jack Nicklaus hopes for a better Honda Classic turnout next year
Jack Nicklaus was not impressed with the field for the Honda Classic, but hopes it will improve next year.
Nicklaus said via ESPN:
“Next year’s schedule is Pebble and LA are their elevated tournaments. Phoenix is not. Then they go to Mexico, then they come here. So, we’ll have players next year. And then they have Bay Hill and Players. The tournament is going be fine”.
He also added that it wouldn’t be because he asked them to join. He doesn’t do that and believes that the golfers will come of his own free will:
“I don’t do that. I don’t do it for the Memorial Tournament. I don’t do it for any tournament. I didn’t like it when people did it to me. If you’re going to play, you’re going to play. If you’re not going to play, you’re not going to play “.
Time will tell if he is right or not.