After shooting a two-over 73 in the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, Chris Kirk rallied at TPC Boston and carded a 66, 64 and 66 in the last three rounds to capture the Wedgwood Trophy on Monday.
In Kirk's second win of the PGA season, the 29-year-old played his final 37 holes without recording a bogey and sunk three crucial putts to finish at 15-under for the tournament. He earned $1.4 million with the victory, sits in first place of the FedExCup standings with 4,154 points, and has done all he could at the right time to receive recognition from US Ryder Cup team captain Tom Watson.
Russell Henley, Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel and Jason Day all entered the final round at 10-under or better and were Kirk's main competition on the last day at TPC Boston. Kirk showed no fear as he played alongside McIlroy and carded five birdies and thirteen pars on the day to solidify the win. He was ten shots behind the leader after the opening round and managed to win by two strokes.
Watson will make his final three selections for the US Ryder Cup team on Tuesday in New York, and what Kirk was able to do this weekend should significantly factor in to his decision. If Kirk isn't selected, he'll likely be content going into the BMW Championship on Thursday as the leader in the FedExCup standings and continue working on his goal to become the PGA season champion.
"I certainly don't feel entitled, or feel like I'm a shoe-in to get a pick," said Kirk, in this ESPN article, in regards to the Ryder Cup team. "I've obviously really put myself into consideration, and it's something that I would love to do. But like I've said before, the nine guys that made it are automatic. Those are the guys on the team. The other three? If you get in, it's a bonus."
Kirk was ranked No. 14 in the Ryder Cup standings through August 25 with 3,287.88 events points - just five spots away from an automatic bid. Kirk and Hunter Mahan are likely front-runners to earn a spot on the team because they were each victorious in one of the two first playoff events, but we'll see who Watson decides to choose on Tuesday.
