Kirk Clenches Win At Colonial In Fort Worth
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FORT WORTH (105.3 The Fan/AP) — Chris Kirk made a par-saving 7-foot putt after an errant tee shot at the 18th hole, avoiding a playoff at Colonial and winning by a stroke Sunday for his fourth PGA Tour victory.
With a closing 4-under 66, Kirk got to 12-under 268, one ahead of Masters champion Jordan Spieth, playing partner Brandt Snedeker and Jason Bohn. After Kirk hooked his tee shot at No. 18 into the left rough, he hit his approach from 155 yards over the green. A nice chip set up the winning putt.
Jordan Spieth's lone bogey of day was at par-3 16th. Used 7-iron. Should've used 8. "Just took the wrong club," he said. Cost him a playoff
— Mike McAllister (@PGATOUR_mikemc) May 24, 2015
Snedeker, who closed with a 67, hit a similar tee shot as Kirk on the final hole and hit to 12 feet. But his birdie try, which would have been his first since making six the first 11 holes Sunday, slid past the hole and kept him from tying Kirk.
Bohn had a 63 that included six consecutive birdies on the front nine. Jordan Spieth shot 65, with a near-birdie that became a bogey at the par-3 16th hole.
When Kirk got in trouble at No. 18, Bohn and Spieth went to the nearby No. 1 tee and were hitting balls in preparation for a potential playoff.
Spieth was only a few minutes removed from a 20-foot birdie putt at the closing hole, where more than an hour earlier Bohn had a 28-footer that lipped the cup and left him lifting the putter over his head in frustration. When Kirk made his putt, Spieth was standing near the 18th green watching.
Kirk's victory for a $1.17 million check came at a saturated Hogan's Alley, where the sun finally came out late in the final round after heavy rain overnight and throughout tournament week.
Kevin Na, the outright leader after the second and third rounds, shot 72 and finished in an eight-way tie for 10th at 9 under. He was part of a leading four-way tie that included Spieth after the first round.
A 54-hole leader hasn't won Colonial since Phil Mickelson in 2008.
Spieth was making a bid to win the first of consecutive tournaments at home in the North Texas for the 21-year-old Masters champion from Dallas.
The PGA Tour's next stop is the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, where Spieth twice made the cut as a teenage amateur.
Spieth had a 50-foot putt tracking to the cup at the 16th hole Sunday, but the ball went on the right edge and then curled 7 foot to the left. Spieth missed the comeback putt, dropping out to 10 under and out of the lead.
Like the opening round Thursday, the scheduled start of play Sunday was pushed back three hours because of heavy rain overnight. PGA Tour officials said more than 1 1/2 inches of rain fell after the third round was complete, on top of probably 8 inches or so that had already soaked Hogan's Alley in the past few weeks.
There were no delays Friday or Saturday, though the third round included threesomes instead of twosomes along with earlier-than-usual weekend tee tees. There were also threesomes Sunday.
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