Chris Kirk

Background

Kirk was born in Knoxville, Tennessee but reared in Woodstock, Georgia.

Education

Kirk finished second on the 2010 Nationwide Tour money list to earn his 2011 Professional Golf Association Tour card, despite sitting out the last event of the season. Early in the 2011 Professional Golf Association Tour season, Kirk finished second to Philosophy Mickelson at the Shell Houston Open.

Career

He was given the 2007 Ben Hogan Award. Kirk turned professional in 2007. He played on the Nationwide Tour for three seasons from 2008 to 2010.

He beat George McNeill and Tom Pernice, Junior. by a single stroke.

The victory automatically qualified him for the 2011 Professional Golf Association Championship, where he finished T34. In his debut season on the Professional Golf Association Tour, Kirk had four top-10s and finished 42nd in the end of season Federal Express Cup standings to retain his card for 2012.

In 2012, Kirk played in 27 events and only missed six cuts, including four top-10 finishes and best of T-4 at the Royal Bank of Canada 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 American Telephone & Telegraph Company Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, after shooting 64-66 on the weekend to finish two shots behind Brandt Snedeker.

He prevailed by one stroke over Briny Baird and Tim Clark. He finished T-4 in The Tour Championship, the first time he had qualified for the event to end the year second on the Federal Express Cup standings behind Billy Horschel. He shot 65-66 over the weekend to finish one stroke ahead of Jason Bohn, Brandt Snedeker and Jordan Spieth.

He had to hole a six-foot putt for par on the final green to claim the victory.

Professional Golf Association Tour wins (4) Nationwide Tour wins (2) DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place Yellow background for top-10 Amateur Eisenhower Trophy: 2006 Palmer Cup: 2006, 2007 (winners) Walker Cup: 2007 (winners) Professional: 2015.

Achievements

• In 2010, he won the Fort Smith Classic to earn his first Nationwide Tour title. He followed this up with his second win of the season at the Knoxville News Sentinel Open. Kirk later won his first Professional Golf Association Tour event in 2011, the Viking Classic, which was played the same weekend as The Open Championship. Kirk earned his second Professional Golf Association Tour win at the 2013 McGladrey Classic, which was part of the new wrap-around season for 2014. The win qualified Kirk for his first Masters. The Viking Classic, which was Kirk"s first victory on tour, was an alternate event and not eligible for a Masters invitation. On September 1, 2014, Kirk won the second event of the Federal Express Cup playoffs at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston for his third Professional Golf Association Tour title, to jump from 17th in Federal Express Cup rankings to first. In 2015, Kirk won for the fourth time on the Professional Golf Association Tour at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Membership

He played college golf at the University of Georgia and was a member of their 2005 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men"s Golf Championship team along with Kevin Kisner, Richard Scott and Brendon Todd.