Designated? No. Dramatic. No doubt.
Sunday’s final round of the Honda Classic started with an ‘eclectic’ leaderboard at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, before turning into a one-on-one showdown between veteran Chris Kirk, a four-time PGA Tour winner whose last victory came in 2015, and rookie Eric Cole, playing in just his 15th career tour event.
In the end, experience ruled the day, Kirk, 37, winning in a playoff with a birdie on the par-5 18th after making a bogey there 15 minutes earlier. Kirk finished with a closing one-under 69 for a 14-under 266 to grab his first win since the 2015 Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial, some 179 starts earlier.
Cole, the 34-year-old son of PGA Tour winner Bobby Cole and LPGA Tour pro Laura Baugh, lipped out on a 15-foot birdie putt that would have extended the playoff to a second hole. While disappointed that his closing 67 wasn’t enough to win, the runner-up finish was far and away his best career showing.
The overall purse at PGA National is $8.4 million with Kirk earning $1.512 million (Cole took home $915,600, not bad when you consider his biggest pay day to date on tour had been $146,250 for a T-15 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am).
Here are the top prize money payouts this weekend at the Champion Course.
Win: Chris Kirk, -14, $1,512,000
P-2: Eric Cole, -14, $915,600
3: Tyler Duncan, -12, $579,600
4: Ryan Gerard, -10, $411,600
T-5: Ben Martin, -9, $288,120
T-5: Sepp Straka, -9, $288,120
T-5: Justin Suh, -9, $288,120
T-5: Shane Lowry, -9, $288,120
T-5: Ben Taylor, -9, $288,120
T-10: Dylan Wu, -8, $220,500
T-10: David Lingmerth, -8, $220,500
T-12: Zach Johnson, -7, $186,900
T-12: Cameron Percy, -7, $186,900
T-14: Brandon Wu, -6, $136,500
T-14: Jim Herman, -6, $136,500
T-14: Stephen Jaeger, -6, $136,500
T-14: Lee Hodges, -6, $136,500
T-14: Adrian Meronk, -6, $136,500
T-14: Ryan Brehm, -6, $136,500
T-14: Kramer Hickok, -6, $136,500