Chris Kirk wins Fort Smith Classic; Daly finishes 22nd

story submitted by the PGA Tour

Georgia’s Chris Kirk fired a 6-under 64 Sunday to come from behind and win the Fort Smith Classic by one stroke over Kyle Thompson, who charged up the board with a 7-under 63.

John Daly, playing on a sponsor’s exemption and making his first start on this Tour since 1991, shot a final-round 69 to wind up at 8-under 272. Daly posted sub-par scores each day (66-68-69-69) but wound up T22. Daly hit 26 of 52 fairways this week, 47 of 72 greens in regulation and had 110 putts.

Kirk finished at 16-under 264 and earned his first career title. He collected $94,500 in the process, pushing him from No. 4 to No. 1 on the money list with $262,382, which should be more than enough to guarantee him a place among the 25 leading money winners who will move onto the PGA Tour next year.

“It’s been a lot of years since I won a golf tournament. I had forgotten how good it feels,” said the 25-year old who won seven times during his days with the Bulldogs. “This takes care of a lot of goals in one round. My first win on Tour and then to be able to secure my PGA Tour card for next year and go to number one on the money list at the same time feels incredible.”

Thompson, a Tour member who needed to Monday qualify just to get into the field, rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish at 15-under and in solo second. Garrett Osborn (64), Michael Putnam (66), Zack Miller (67) and Josh Broadaway (69) wound up at 12-under and tied for third.

Fan favorite John Daly carded a 1-under 69 and tied for 22nd in his first Nationwide Tour start since 1991.

The final round at Hardscrabble Country Club began with 21 players bunched within four strokes Broadaway, the 54-hole leader who plays cross-handed from the right side.
Kirk played in the final pairing with Broadaway and quickly moved to the lead with birdies on his first two holes, getting to 12-under par. He added two more at number five and six to reach 14-under.

Osborn was the first to make some noise, turning the front in 5-under to get to 11-under and a temporary share of the lead. Putnam reached 13-under with a birdie-eagle start on the back but his efforts stalled when he played the final seven holes in 1-over par. Broadaway never really got untracked but got within shouting distance thanks to birdies at Nos. 10 and 12 to reach 13-under, but he too had trouble on the final stretch of holes.

Kirk bogeyed No. 8 and then chipped out from the trees on No. 9 and saved par with an up-and-down from 60 yards. He added a birdie on the par-5, 11th to get back to 14-under.

“After I made birdie there, I thought somebody was going to have play really well,” said Kirk. “I thought if I could get to 16-under somebody would have trouble catching me. That was the number in my head.”

Birdies at No. 13 and 15 put him right where he wanted to be. The latter one coming within seconds of Thompson rolling in his birdie putt on the par-4, 18th to post a score at 15-under.
That put the pressure back on Kirk, who lost a playoff at the Moonah Classic in Australia after blowing a two-shot lead with three holes to go in regulation.

“Anyone who says that doubt doesn’t creep into their heads, well they’re lying,” said Kirk, who parred the final three holes. “I’ve just taken the approach that negative thoughts are very natural. Let them come and go and then let’s get back to being positive. I learned a lot from that playoff. It’s a huge sense of relief to be able to finish strong today.”

FOURTH-ROUND NOTES
• Tommy Gainey fired a 7-under 63 today and moved up to finish T16. The 63 is Gainey’s career-low score in 76 total starts (36 Nationwide Tour/40 PGA TOUR). Gainey did post an 8-under 64 in the final round of the 2008 Children’s Miracle Network Classic and wound in solo second in that event. Gainey, winner of the Melwood Prince George’s County Open two weeks ago, earned enough money to leapfrog former leading money winner Kevin Chappell (did not play) and remain at No. 2 on the money list with $199,253.

• David Mathis fired a final-round 63 to move into a T7 finish. This is Mathis’ third consecutive top-10 effort. In his previous two starts he finished T9 at The Rex Hospital Open and T10 at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open. This is the second time in his career that he has posted three straight top-10s – 2008 South Georgia Classic (T6), BMW Charity Pro-Am (win), Melwood Prince George’s County Open (T2).

• Rookie Ty Harris finished at 11-under par and T7 this week, his first top-10 finish in 13 starts. Harris’ previous best this year was a T20 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.

• Kyle Thompson jumped from No. 150 to No. 35 on the money list with his second-place check of $56,700. He had made $4,480 in seven previous starts this year.

• The Nationwide Tour heads south for next week’s Mexico Open in Leon. The tournament will be played at the El Bosque Country Club June 24-27.