Chris Kirk aced the 14th, shot 6-under-par 64 and entered the clubhouse with the early lead at the St. Jude FedEx Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis on Thursday.
Kirk took his first bogey of the round on the last hole, scratching a 5 on the 449-yard par-4 to close with five birdies, one bogey and the hole-in-one eagle, landing his high tee shot short and right of the pin and watching it roll on a fast track into the cup.
The playoff-opening event featuring the top 70 in the points standings hit lunch hour in Tennessee with Kirk (No. 28), Canada’s Taylor Pendrith (27th), England’s Justin Rose (55th) and Ben Griffin (56th) huddled atop the midday leaderboard.
Kirk, 39, has one win this season and six in his career.
Pendrith was at 5 under and one clear of Griffin and Rose, the 44-year-old without a win this season but the 2018 FedEx Cup Championship on his lengthy resume.
Rose shot 61 to tie the TPC Southwind course record in August 2023.
–Field Level Media
