Final «Thriller» at The Honda Classic 2023. After four days played with great rhythm and quality, the American Chris Kirk managed to reach the fourth victory of his career on the PGA Tour, despite a last hole that risked putting him everything in question.
Chris Kirk results
On the 18th of “The Champion” course at PGA National Resort, Kirk led off with a perfect tee shot for anyone looking to get a one-stroke lead over his immediate pursuer, Eric Cole. Then, a dubious choice and some bad luck meant that his second shot ended up in the water after bouncing off the stones on the green.
Fortunately for him, Cole only managed a PAIR against his bogey, forcing a playoff for the final win. On the play-off hole, Kirk’s more prudent choice of playing a second fairway shot prevailed over Cole’s more offensive, who, searching for the green, found a bunker that proved fatal in his quest for the first title of his career. race on the top circuit. .
Third place for Tyler Duncan with a score of -12 at the end of a tournament dedicated to continuity. Ryan Gerard fourth with a -10 that allowed him to overtake Ben Martin and last year’s winner Sepp Straka, fifth with a total score of -9.
Three of the four big Major tournaments take place over eight weeks, between June and August. In the past, this has threatened to make the remaining two and a half months of the season uninteresting, as some of the best players decide to compete less thereafter.
The solution was the introduction of a new type of qualification, the FedEx Cup. From January through mid-August, players compete in tournaments that make up the «regular season» and earn FedEx Cup points as well as prize money.
. At the end of the regular season, the top 144 players in the FedEx Cup standings qualify for the «playoffs,» four tournaments that take place between mid-August and mid-September. The number of participants in these tournaments is progressively reduced from 144 to 120 to 70 and eventually to the 30 that traditionally participate in the Tour Championship.
In these tournaments you can earn more points for the FedEx Cup. At the end of the Tour Championship, whoever has accumulated the most points is the champion of the season. To implement this new system, the PGA Tour had to make significant changes to the traditional calendar.
