Tour rookie Kirk gets maiden victory
Chris Kirk26-year-old Chris Kirk, fresh off back-to-back top-25 finishes (T8/AT&T National and T22/John Deere Classic), carded a final-round 4-under 68 to claim his first win on the PGA Tour (30 starts) by one stroke over George McNeill and Tom Pernice, Jr. His previous best-finish on Tour was T2 behind Phil Mickelson at the Shell Houston Open.
Kirk has made 11 of 21 cuts on Tour this season and leads all rookies with four top 10s.
Kirk became the fifth rookie to win on Tour this season (Jhonattan Vegas/Bob Hope Classic, Charl Schwartzel/Masters, Brendan Steele/Valero Texas Open and Keegan Bradley/HP Byron Nelson Championship). Since 1970, there has only been one season when five-or-more different rookies won on Tour (2004-Todd Hamilton, Zach Johnson, Vaughn Taylor, Andre Stolz and Ryan Palmer).
The 2010 Nationwide Tour graduate picked up the 311th PGA Tour victory by a former Nationwide Tour player. Kirk won twice on the Nationwide Tour last year (Fort Smith Classic and Knoxville News Sentinel Open).
Kirk became the seventh player to make the Viking Classic his first win. The following players made the Viking Classic their first win on Tour: Chris Kirk (2011), D.J. Trahan (2006), Luke Donald (2002), Cameron Beckman (2001), Willie Wood (1996), Ed Dougherty (1995) and Brian Henninger (1994).
Kirk’s only other lead on Tour was after the second-round at the Shell Houston Open earlier this year. Kirk finished T2 behind Phil Mickelson in Houston. He led after the third round this week.
Kirk becomes the ninth first-time winner on Tour this season.
Chris Kirk became the 13th winner of the Viking Classic to post all four rounds in the 60s and first since Heath Slocum in 2005.
Kirk made his professional debut at the 2007 Viking Classic (MC).
Kirk led the field in birdies with 23.
George McNeill
George McNeill, a 35-year-old native out of Naples, Florida, entered the final round three strokes back of the 54-hole leader but fired a 4-under 68 on Sunday to climb into contention. His T2 finish this week is his best since dropping a playoff at the 2009 Children’s Miracle Network Classic.
McNeill entered the week ranked 132nd in the FedExCup but jumped into the top 95.
McNeill made his third start at the Viking Classic. McNeill’s previous two finishes were T34/2007 and T52/2010.
The former Florida State University standout is playing in his 12th event of the year with three top-10 finishes (5th/Puerto Rico Open and T6/Zurich Classic of New Orleans).
Tom Pernice, Jr.
51-year-old Tom Pernice, Jr., fresh off of a T5 finish at the Champions Tour’s Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach, carded a final-round 5-under 67 to end up one back of Kirk.
Tom Pernice, Jr. finished T2 in his 12th Viking Classic. He has made the cut in eight of his previous 11 starts at the Viking Classic
This week is Pernice’s fifth start of the year on Tour. His previous best finish was T19 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
Tom Pernice, Jr. won in his first start on the Champions Tour in 2009 at the SAS Championship. Pernice is one of 15 players to win his Champions Tour debut.
Pernice has played in 12 Champions Tour events this year. He’s had five top-10 finishes and is currently 20th in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Bud Cauley
21-year-old Bud Cauley, who made his third start of the season, picked up his first career top-10 finish with a T4 this week at the Viking Classic.
Cauley has eight consecutive rounds in the 60s on Tour. He recorded all four rounds in the 60s at the Travelers Championship on his way to a T24 finish.
Cauley turned professional prior to the U.S. Open (T63) in June after a stellar amateur career at the University of Alabama.
This week was Cauley’s fourth start on Tour, third this season. He missed the cut as an amateur at the 2010 RBC Heritage.
Hunter Haas
Hunter Haas rolled in a 53-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 18th hole to climb to 20-under 268 and finish T4.
The 2010 Nationwide Tour graduate made his 22nd start of the season this week. He’s made 14 cuts with six top-25 finishes and a best finish of T3 at the Puerto Rico Open.
The 34-year-old, playing in his third Viking Classic, posted his best finish of the Tournament. He missed the cut in 2001 and finished T44 in 2005.
Jim Renner
Jim Renner, making his 14th start of the season, notched his first career top-10 with a T4 finish at the Viking Classic. Renner, who finished T22 at PGA Tour Qualifying School, had missed five of his last six cuts coming into this week. He has made seven cuts in his rookie season.
Renner posted a personal-best 62 in the third round. He shot an opening round 63 at the Travelers Championship last month, but missed the cut after shooting a 74 in the second round.
Renner’s previous best finish on Tour was T56 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, which is 200 miles north of Jackson, MS.
Sunghoon Kang
Kang, a rookie on Tour, played in five events earlier this year and made three cuts before taking time off in March and April to return to South Korea in order to fulfill a military commitment which is a requirement for citizens in that country. Kang was originally supposed to serve two years, but his stint was reduced to just one month because he was a member of his country’s gold medal-winning team at the 2006 Asian Games.
Sunghoon Kang entered the final round within one stroke of 54-hole leader Chris Kirk but was unable to mount a charge, finishing with a 2-under-par 70. His T7 finish betters his previous best, T12, at last week’s John Deere Classic.
Kang had never played a Tour event prior to this season. He has made seven cuts in 14 starts this season, counting this week.
Tommy Gainey
Tommy Gainey picked up his fifth top-10 of the season with a T7 finish at the Viking Classic.
Gainey, a 2010 Nationwide Tour graduate, entered the week with back-to-back missed cuts at the AT&T National and John Deere Classic.
Blake Adams
35-year-old Blake Adams, who made his 23rd start of the year, picked up his second top-10 of the season with a T9 finish. His other top-10 came at the Travelers Championship where he also finished T9.
Adams’ 62 in the second round was a career best. His previous best round on Tour was 63 (Crowne Plaza Invitational/2010 and RBC Heritage/2010).
Peter Lonard
Australian Peter Lonard entered the final round within one stroke of 54-hole leader Chris Kirk. The 2005 RBC Heritage winner posted a 1-under 71 in the final round to finish T9.
This week was Lonard’s first start on Tour since the 2009 Children’s Miracle Network Classic where he finished 69th.
Lonard has played 11 events on the Nationwide Tour this year. His best finish, T11, came in his previous start at the Mexico Open.
Shane Bertsch
Making his 12th start of the season, Shane Bertsch picked up his first top-10 finish with a T9 this week at the Viking Classic. Bertsch now has four career top-10 finishes. His most recent top-10 finish came at the 2008 Wyndham Championship.
Bertsch made his fourth start this week at the Viking Classic. His previous best finish was T14 in 2008 and he missed the cut in 1997 and 1998.
Bertsch led the field this week in the new statistical category – Strokes Gained – Putting. He picked up 2.853 strokes per round over the field.
D.J. Trahan
D.J. Trahan, who made his 21st start of the season this week, picked up his first top-10 with a T9 finish. He has had at least two top 10s each season on Tour since 2005.
Trahan has three top-15 finishes in four previous starts in the Viking Classic (2005/T12, 2006/1st, 2007/T49 and 2010/T3).
Steven Bowditch
Australian Steven Bowditch posted a 10-under 62 in the final round to move from T65 to T18. The 28-year-old bettered his previous best career round of 64 set at the Crowne Plaza Invitational earlier this year in the second round.
Miscellaneous Stats
The Viking Classic is part of the FedExCup season for the first time. The winner received 250 FedExCup points.
A total of 13 players posted all four rounds in the 60s at Annandale GC.
There were six past champions in the field: Will MacKenzie (T69), D.J. Trahan (T6), Heath Slocum (T61), Cameron Beckman (T38), Steve Lowery (WD) and Willie Wood (MC).
Scoring Averages at the par-72 Annandale GC:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 34.916 35.053 69.969 ---
Friday 35.082 34.820 69.902 69.937
Saturday 34.919 34.257 69.176 69.765
Sunday 35.257 34.757 70.014 70.810
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