Being the best at anything requires high standards. It is especially so for Chris Kirk. However, for an athlete like him to feel the thrill of the game, he needs to hit an exceptional shot or win the trophy, just like he did, a while back at the Sentry. But the question naturally arises; what would he do if it were an off-season? What else! He goes ahead and takes a page right out of Phil Mickelson‘s book.
Do not get it wrong. We are not talking about the left-handed LIV golfer but Kirk himself going viral for playing in a different manner during the two months following the BMW Championship. Why, you ask? Well, the athlete himself opened up about the same, all the while embracing the “childlike nature” of golf!
Chris Kirk opens up about the viral video at The Sentry
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In a press conference following his win at the Sentry, the 38-year-old confessed his reasons for playing that way. The golfer recounted how, every December, he, along with his friends before having kids, would “play every day for a week left-handed.” Adding on, the champ recalled how there was “just a lot of talking cr*p to each other and just having fun goofing off.”
Continuing with his response, the six-time PGA Tour champ disclosed how it’s still “fun” and nothing more to play left-handed. Moreover, it helps bring back a “childlike nature of the game,” all the while being able to be happy indulging in the act rather than expecting a victory at a tournament playing right-handed.
On that note, he even mentioned how being able to “hit the fairway”, “hit a 7-iron on the green” or “make two pars in a row” would be nothing short of awesome and unbelievable. Meanwhile, to feel really good about a shot that was made right-handed, it would have to be “something phenomenal” while alluding to the birdie he made on No.17 on Sunday.
Why the sudden interest in his alternate gameplay? Well, a video of the golfer playing left-handed was shown during his final round of play while teeing it off against Akshay Bhatia and Xander Schauffele.
An off-season Kirk turns ‘Lefty’
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It seems Mickelson has a friend in Kirk, but only during the off-season, when he turns a mirror opposite of himself when he plays on the PGA Tour. However, his best scores can’t help but take a dip as they come down to 82, as opposed to the career-low 62 he carded at the 2023 Honda Classic. But even so, such a number leaves many other left-handed golfers in the world with their mouths agape.
Chris Kirk didn’t touch his right-handed clubs for two months after BMW Championship.
He leaned into practicing his lefty game and shot his best score of 82 in the fall.
Today, Kirk leads by one @TheSentry. pic.twitter.com/eg70zohUCA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 7, 2024
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The different mechanics he employs on the greens are just a means of enjoyment on the course. If he had done the same at The Sentry, scoring 29-under 263 would not have been remotely possible. Neither would have been clinching his sixth victory on the PGA Tour, along with being the first one in 2024. Anyhow, he can now indulge in some “fun” before carrying the momentum forward to his next event, the Sony Open in Hawaii.
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