PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 19, 2022

Chris Kirk

Southern Hills Country Club

Flash Quotes

JOHN DEVER: Welcome back to the 2022 PGA Championship here at Southern Hills Country Club. We are joined by Chris Kirk, who fashioned a 2-under par 68 today. Chris, that's a clean scorecard. I don't think they'll come any cleaner. That has to make you feel really good, a pretty good open.

CHRIS KIRK: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, really good solid front nine. Made some really crucial par saves early in the back nine, 11, 12 and 13, that I managed to keep the momentum.

And then a lot of that closing stretch is just some really tough holes. I would love to have hit a little better wedge shot on 17, but with where that pin was it's certainly not an easy wedge shot.

Other than that, just really proud of the way I hung in there, and was able to grind it out.

Q. If you could describe one of your par saves, maybe the longest or most important one of the day for you.

CHRIS KIRK: 12 was definitely a big one for me. I hit it in the left fairway bunker and was kind of close to the lip. If it had not -- it was blowing pretty hard in.

Probably with no wind I could have hit an 8- or 9-iron on the green, but I was so close to the lip I would have had to hit it just to the moon and then the wind would have taken it wherever.

I did the smart thing thankfully and just wedged it out and hit one in there to about seven or eight feet and made that one for par.

Back that up the next hole after a great drive. Hit a terrible second shot into the water on 13 and was able to drop and another really nice little wedge shot to about the same range, seven, eight feet, and made that one, too. Those were both huge.

Q. How did the course change throughout the day for you? And did you encounter any delays on any of the intersecting tee boxes and greens?

CHRIS KIRK: It firmed up a little bit as it went, but the greens are still relatively receptive right now. I think it's going to be a case of -- with the heat and the temperatures and the wind, it's going to be tough to get them overly firm and keep them alive.

But they don't need to be. The greens are so small, and with the wind going and any shots playing out of the rough are going to be extremely difficult.

We didn't have any real delays. There was a little bit maybe with that area of -- I guess it's 3 tee box, 6 tee box, 6 green, where we were just taking turns. But to be honest, when I played the practice rounds, I was like, this is going to be wild with all these crossing holes. But it played out far better than I anticipated it would.

Q. What's the challenge of going for that green at 13? Can you describe the shot you had, what you're facing there and how difficult that shot is?

CHRIS KIRK: Yeah, from the bottom of that hill I had 259 I think to the hole. Maybe misjudged the wind a little bit. I thought it was more helping off the left, and I think it was closer to straight across.

I hit my 7-wood about 240, maybe low 240s, and I had 250 to the front, so was counting on some help to get there. I missed it a little bit, but I didn't hit it awful but just kind of out to the right, and it just didn't carry.

Yeah, it's certainly a small target up there that you can't even see. Yeah, it's a challenge to say the least.