{"id":14658,"date":"2023-03-01T09:45:52","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T09:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/chris-kirk-battled-alcoholism-and-depression-now-he-has-won-the-honda-classic-for-his-first-pga-tour-victory-in-seven-years\/"},"modified":"2023-03-01T09:45:52","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T09:45:52","slug":"chris-kirk-battled-alcoholism-and-depression-now-he-has-won-the-honda-classic-for-his-first-pga-tour-victory-in-seven-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=14658","title":{"rendered":"Chris Kirk battled alcoholism and depression — now he has won the Honda Classic for his first PGA Tour victory in seven years"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n CNN<\/span>
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\n It had been 2,836 days since Chris Kirk last won on the PGA Tour. Yet after securing his first victory in over seven years on Sunday, that was not the first milestone the American golfer had on his mind.\n <\/p>\n

\n A nail-biting playoff victory over compatriot Eric Cole at The Honda Classic in Florida sealed the American\u2019s fifth PGA Tour title, and his first since he committed to sobriety almost four years ago.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI owe everything that I have in my entire life to my sobriety,\u201d Kirk told reporters at PGA National Resort.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be doing this for a living anymore. I probably wouldn\u2019t have the family that I have currently anymore. I came really close to losing everything that I cared about.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cFor that to have happened and worked out for me, obviously there was some decisions that I made, but mostly the grace of God and a lot of other people that really helped me along the way.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s constantly on my mind, so it\u2019s pretty easy for me to see that winning the Honda Classic is kind of a bonus when literally every good thing I have in my life I owe to that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\n On the eve of his 34th birthday in May 2019, Kirk announced he would be taking an \u201cindefinite leave\u201d from golf to deal with his alcohol abuse and depression.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI thought I could control it, but after multiple relapses, I have come to realize I can\u2019t fix this on my own,\u201d Kirk added in a social media post.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n By that point his world ranking, which had peaked at 16th after his fourth PGA Tour victory at the Colonial tournament in 2015, had plummeted to 188th. He had failed to make the cut in four consecutive events, missing a total of 11 over just 17 events in the 2018-19 PGA Tour season.\n <\/p>\n

\n A tied-15th finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational represented Kirk\u2019s sole top-40 finish of the campaign.\n <\/p>\n

\n When he returned to the Tour at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November 2019, his rank had fallen even further \u2013 he was world No. 303 \u2013 but Kirk was a rejuvenated man.\n <\/p>\n

\n A candid interview with the PGA Tour on the eve of his comeback shed light on the golfer\u2019s previous multiple unsuccessful attempts to give up alcohol.\n <\/p>\n

\n Kirk, who said there was a history of alcoholism in his family, added he had given up beer in late 2017, switching to wine and hard liquor such as vodka and bourbon. That switch had been a decision to tackle his increasing weight, but it only served to \u201caccelerate\u201d his alcohol issues.\n <\/p>\n

\n For Kirk, his openness had simply been about personal catharsis. Subsequently, the response from others has blown him away.\n <\/p>\n

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\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of people that have reached out to me directly and said, \u2018I read your story or I heard your story and that made me decide that it was time [to quit],\u201d Kirk said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen I first came back to playing and was very open and honest about it, that was not in my mind at all. It was more \u2026 for me because I felt I had lived this life for a number of years where I was just lying to myself, lying to my family, hiding a lot of things.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo the honesty of the process that I went through to get better just felt so good that I had nothing to hide, and so it was just the natural thing for me to do.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut now on the back end a little bit, it\u2019s been amazing. Like I said, it\u2019s not something that I really saw happening, but to be able to connect with people and \u2026 for somebody to say, \u2018I got sober because of you, and my life has changed because of you,\u2019 you can\u2019t really describe how unreal that is with words.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n On Sunday, disaster looked to have struck for Kirk at the 18th when his second shot went sailing into the water hazard to the right of the hole.\n <\/p>\n

\n The American recovered well, but his subsequent bogey saw him drop into a playoff against Cole, his 34-year-old compatriot \u2013 ranked 330th in the world ahead of the event \u2013 who was chasing his maiden PGA Tour title.\n <\/p>\n

\n For both players, it marked their first experience of a PGA Tour playoff, and for Kirk, it meant a replay of the hole that had nearly crushed him moments earlier.\n <\/p>\n

\n Again, Kirk looked to be sliding towards a heartbreaking collapse when his tee shot settled near a tree. However, an incredible response saw the 37-year-old spark a 267-yard effort to the greenside bunker before almost holing his subsequent eagle approach shot from the sand.\n <\/p>\n

\n When Cole\u2019s birdie putt agonizingly rolled around the lip\u2019s hole, Kirk tapped home for birdie and victory.\n <\/p>\n

\n As well as securing him $1,512,000 in prize money, Sunday\u2019s triumph jumps Kirk to the world No. 32 spot and sixth in the FedEx Cup rankings. Just as sweetly, it clinches him a spot at The Masters in April and the opportunity to take his wife and three sons to Augusta.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve been watching that World Ranking closely, trying to stay in the top 50, but to take care of it this week, that\u2019s going to be something that\u2019s incredibly special,\u201d Kirk said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat par-3 contest can\u2019t come soon enough. I\u2019m really looking forward to that. The whole week, but just to be able to make those memories with my wife and my kids will be awesome.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n On Thursday, Kirk will tee off in Orlando for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Celebrating victory with a diet coke alongside friends on Sunday, the eve of the tournament will mark the first chance for Kirk to toast his victory with family.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be a lot of celebrating, and I thank God that alcohol won\u2019t be a part of it,\u201d Kirk said.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n