Chris Kirk two-putted for birdie from just short of the 18th green at Kapalua on Saturday, giving him a 7-under 66 for a one-shot lead in The Sentry and hardly any room for error going into the final round of the PGA Tour’s season opener.
Low scoring has become the norm on the Plantation course at Kapalua, even with stronger trade wind. Different about this year is the number of players with a chance.
That includes 21-year-old Akshay Bhatia in his first full year on the PGA Tour and Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth, both past champions at Kapalua.
Kirk was at 21-under 198 in his first time back at Kapalua in eight years. He was the PGA Tour’s comeback player of the year in 2023 from winning the Honda Classic after having stepped away for a big part of 2019 to deal with alcoholism and depression.
He starts the new year with what feels like a sprint on the side of a mountain.
“You certainly can’t protect anything out here, that’s for sure,” Kirk said. “When it’s a shootout like this and the scores are really low, you just stay aggressive and just go do your thing.”
Bhatia, who secured his PGA Tour card through the minor leagues and then won the Barracuda Championship, took only 27 putts for the second straight day. His only lapse was three-putting from 60 feet for par on the 667-yard closing hole for a 66.
The group two shots behind included Schauffele (65), who closed with a 62 five years ago to rally for victory at Kapalua; and Spieth (67), who won by eight shots at Kapalua in 2016. They were joined by Byeong Hun An (68).
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You certainly can’t protect anything out here, that’s for sure. Yeah, no doubt. When it’s a shoot-out like this and the scores are really low you just stay aggressive and just go do your thing. I don’t know if I’m surprised, I was just kind of pretty comfortable today and I know
My game’s really good. Obviously, made a putter change which has been a big help. As far as confidence, I kind of went into the week with a no-judgment attitude on it, and so far it’s been feeling really good.
I’m excited to see how I feel with the lead or with expectations that I have on myself of winning tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. Tiger’s event was big for me, just to get out there and get into contention.
Then come here and kind of pick up where I left off there is really nice. We’ll just have to see the conditions tomorrow, and I just assume I have to shoot 6-under plus or you finish top 25, and it’s just crazy how the scoring is.
