Chris Kirk is one of the most resilient golfers in the world.
Over the past few years, Kirk struggled off the golf course with personal difficulties—something he is not afraid to admit. But he stayed true to himself and, in doing so, has returned to being a top player on the PGA Tour.
Last year, Kirk won the 2023 Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida—his first victory since 2015. Hence, the PGA Tour awarded Kirk its Courage Award at the 2023 RSM Classic.
His win in South Florida earned him a spot at The Sentry this week in Maui, and Kirk has taken full advantage of the opportunity.
Kirk holds the 54-hole lead by one shot at 21-under over Akshay Bhatia despite struggling out of the gate. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth sits at 19-under alongside Xander Schauffele and Byeong Hun An.
Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day, Sahith Theegala, and Harris English lurk at 18-under.
“A little bit of a slow start, for sure,” Kirk said when asked how he would assess his third round.
“Those first few holes with the wind direction and how strong it was are actually playing really difficult. We’ve had relatively calm winds, then pretty breezy today. Three and four are playing really long into the wind, just makes it a little bit tough. But I played through that stretch.”
Kirk started with a par, par, and a bogey.
With Kapalua being a birdie barrage, Kirk quickly found himself in a hole. But like his personality, Kirk bounced back with authority once he got to the par-5 5th.
“Once you get into the 5th, 6th, and 7th, some of those holes where you can take advantage of, [you can make birdies],” he added.
“I played really great the rest of the way.”
Starting at the 5th, Kirk reeled off four straight par breakers. Just like that, he went from 1-over on his round to 3-under, putting himself back into contention again.
Three more birdies would follow at the 12th, 13th, and 14th, and by the time he arrived at the par-5 15th, Kirk sat at 6-under for the day and 20-under overall.
He held a share of the lead.
Then, Kirk tried to get aggressive on the easy, dogleg right par-5. The move did not pay off, as his drive caught some limbs and settled in the penalty area to the right of the fairway.
“I didn’t hit that awful of a drive; I just didn’t adjust for the strength of the wind as much as I needed to, compared to the line I was taking the last few days,” Kirk said.
“I only hit it barely right, but with that wind blowing so hard from the left, it just took it over there.”
Despite hitting his third shot from 326 yards away, Kirk managed to save par to keep his momentum going.
“Definitely relief,” Kirk said about his par save.
‘Captain Kirk’ made one more birdie on the par-5 18th and signed for a 7-under 66.
He holds the 54-hole lead for the seventh time in his PGA Tour career.
To date, he is 3-for-6 in converting 54-hole leads into victories, with last year’s Honda Classic being the most recent.
“It sounds dumb and cliche, but you just got to go do your thing,” Kirk said when asked about holding the overnight lead.
“I may go play great tomorrow, and somebody may play a little bit better. There’s only so much control you have over that… It’s fun just to be here and enjoy Hawaii and be able to make some nice free swings in this warm weather. I always loved coming here.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.