Chris Kirk breaks win drought at Honda Classic

The American tied with fellow countryman Eric Cole on 14 under in regulation play - already a tournament record - around PGA National after a back-and-forth tussle in the final group.

The pair turned on their heels and went back up to the 18th tee to break the deadlock. Kirk showed nerves of steel to land his approach shot into the par five within tap-in range, putting the pressure on Cole.

Cole then had to get out the greenside bunker in two but when his ten-foot putt lipped out, it was advantage: Kirk once again. The 37-year-old, who last won in 2015, drained his short putt to claim his fifth PGA Tour title.

"I owe everything that I have in my entire life to my sobriety," said the Tennessee native, who took a break from golf in 2019 to deal with alcoholism and depression.

"I wouldn't be doing this for a living anymore. I probably wouldn't have the family that I have currently anymore. I came really close to losing everything that I cared about.

"For that to have happened and worked out for me, obviously there were some decisions that I made, but mostly the grace of God and a lot of other people that really helped me along the way.

"It's something that's constantly on my mind, so it's pretty easy for me to see that winning The Honda Classic is kind of a bonus, when literally every good thing I have in my life I owe to that (sobriety)."

Meanwhile, Cole, who is a Type 1 diabetic and has Addison's Disease, was disappointed to come so close to a maiden PGA Tour win but proud of his efforts.

"I'm a little disappointed," said Cole, who is the son of former PGA Tour winner Bobby Cole from South Africa.

"Obviously I wanted to win, but I didn't have my best game today, especially ball-striking, and I hung in there pretty tough, and I was proud of that."

Heartbreaking 💔

The Cole family couldn’t believe this putt didn’t go down @TheHondaClassic. pic.twitter.com/msFHNp1XAM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 27, 2023