At least one of the guys who lives on St. Simons Island has been practicing.
That would be Chris Kirk, a guy that some have nicknamed “Captain Kirk” on the PGA Tour.
Well, “Captain Kirk” showed up with a hot putter Thursday and ended up with a nine-under par 63 at the RSM Classic.
“It doesn’t feel forced. I just look at it, line it up and wack it,” said the former Georgia Bulldog golfer. Those 23 wacks put him atop the leader board.
Here’s where it gets confusing if you don’t pay attention.
They’re playing on two golf courses — the Sea Side and the Plantation.
The Sea Side course is the tougher of the two and the one they will play three rounds on.
Most of the Thursday leaders played on the Plantation course — Kirk included. As good as 63 sounds, it was only a shot better than Joel Dahmen’s 64, to which the next question would be, who is Joel Dahmen? Unless he can play the Sea Side course equally well, it won’t matter.
If you want to figure out who the “real” leaders are, consider Nick Watney’s and Brice Garnett’s 65s, and last week’s winner, Patton Kizzire shot 66, all three played the Sea Side.
It wasn’t a particularly great day for the bigger names in the field.
Matt Kuchar lives there and shot a disappointing 71 at Sea Side. Ernie Els shot 70 on Sea Side.
Webb Simpson was the exception but his 67 came at Plantation. Bubba Watson’s comeback still hasn’t gotten out of first gear. He shot 71 at Plantation.
Finally, if you’re wondering about defending champion Mac Hughes, he shot 70 at the Sea Side and will have a great chance to make the 36-hole cut, something he hasn’t done too often lately.
