ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL

March 2, 2023

Chris Kirk

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you characterize your round today?

CHRIS KIRK: Yeah, after a little bit of a crazy beginning to the week after winning the Honda last week, definitely that 5:30 alarm came really early this morning.

But I was excited. I felt a little bit like a zombie this morning, but can't really take away from the excitement that I have playing this event every year. I talked about it some the last few days, the personal relationship I had with Mr. Palmer, and I just have always loved this golf tournament. He was a big influence and somebody that I really looked up to, and so this tournament is something. Because of that and also because of that I've played pretty well here over the years makes it a really special week and a week that I look forward to.

Q. Do you have a favorite Arnold Palmer story?

CHRIS KIRK: Probably for me, I played golf with him at Seminole in the Seminole member-pro one year. I need to look up what year that was, probably seven or eight years ago, something like that. I just remember, obviously, being nervous to play with him, but I just could not believe at the age that he was at that time, I mean, the guy just hit it out of the middle of the face all day long.

I remember playing number 7 at Seminole. It's a par-4 downhill tee shot and the second shot's over a pond, and he's got probably 200 yards in or something like that. Like I said, he hit it out of the middle of the face, but he hadn't flown one more than 160 all day. So no prayer of him making it over this pond. He pulls out 3-wood and just absolutely flushes it right at it, lands dead in the center of the pond, and he's just, Damn, like he was, he thought he had it still. Like, he absolutely smoked it.

But just seeing the way that he was, and I had been around him a lot before that, but getting to spend four hours with him and play golf was obviously something I'll never forget.

Q. What was the first time you met him?

CHRIS KIRK: First time I met him would have been Palmer Cup. I played in the Palmer Cup my junior year and senior year in college. I don't remember the sites of them, but yeah, I got to meet him and be around him a little bit then.

Then I remember him speaking at the probably the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont. He was there for the player dinner and spoke. We all got to say hello to him. Then from my first time, my first year on TOUR, I was lucky enough to get to, played well enough in the spring in the beginning to be able to get, be in the top 70 in FedExCup and be able to play here. Definitely a week that I wouldn't miss.

Q. Can you put into words what the last few days has been like from Sunday evening to now. You know, you've been on hot streaks before where you just know you're playing well and everything you look at looks like an opportunity or whatnot, but what has it been like for the last few days for you just to kind of come back off the high of Sunday night?

CHRIS KIRK: Yeah. It's gone by fast, that's for sure. But, yeah, I mean, I've been, I stayed busy and I played at Seminole with Terry McGuirk, my partner I play with every year. We were first off on Monday, 7:25. So I took about a three hour-nap Sunday night before doing that.

And then headed on up here. Tuesday morning I actually went to some baseball. A lot of people know how much of an Atlanta Braves and a baseball nut I am in general. A good friend of mine, Charlie Culberson, who used to play for the Braves, signed with Tampa Bay and they were using the Disney complex for a little while. So went there and just kind of sat on the edge of the railing of the dugout and watched them warm up for a couple hours before coming out here to do a few things and to get a little practice in.

Actually Charlie and my caddie, Michael, and my agent Jeremy, the four of us played at Isleworth yesterday morning. Had a blast. I think Charlie hit about five or six houses out there. So sorry, it was him, not me. But we had a great time and he's a really good dude and become a good friend over the years.

I've just tried to, after Sunday night, I've just tried to sleep as much as I can, get as much rest as I can. I'll be doing some more of that this afternoon.

Q. (No Microphone.)

CHRIS KIRK: No. I still have been getting in bed at 8:30, 9. But, yeah, I've definitely been busy, and so it was, it definitely, 5:30 came early this morning and felt strange a little bit, like, you know, okay, we're really doing this all over again.

So felt a little bit out of it in the very beginning, but then settled in and played some solid golf.

Q. What was the seen where you got to see your kids watch you win? What was that like?

CHRIS KIRK: That was unexpected for me, definitely emotional, for sure. I did not expect that reaction from my two older boys. Sawyer and Foster both just cried their eyes out. I was able to -- my next door neighbor, Scott Duval, he's a videographer and set up some stuff right there in the end.

So, yeah, I mean, it was some, a lot of relief and jubilation from a lot of my family, but then to see my boys just in tears, you know, that it meant that much to them and how happy they were for me was incredible.

And then it was a long couple days waiting on them to get down here. They flew down yesterday afternoon. So, yeah, it was awesome going to pick them up from the airport yesterday. That's kind of how it is. Even if I'm gone for a week, it's like I've been gone for a year. So it's great. The ages that they are at 5, 9, and 10 is just, it's a real treat for me to get to be their dad and it's incredible.

Q. Having told your story as often as you have, have you had people reach out maybe, through e-mail or through your agent, maybe asking for advice or counsel or, I mean, and how receptive are you to that?

CHRIS KIRK: Yeah, I've had a lot and I'm very receptive to it. A lot through social media. I wouldn't say I always am responding a few hours later or anything, but I definitely always try to get to anyone that reaches out to me, especially in that regard, that they're having trouble or something's going on.

I'll be happy to kind of give a few things of, you know, get a little bit more personal of what I've done to get back on the right track and get my life back going the way I want it to.