Chris Kirk places lack of sleep behind him, contending at Sony Open

After his electrical win at The Sentry to open up the season, Chris Kirk struggled to calm down within the evenings.

And who may blame him? Kirk received $3.6 million and took residence 700 FedEx Cup factors in Maui whereas combating off a few of the greatest gamers on this planet.

No marvel why he couldn’t sleep.

“It’s arduous to get your thoughts to decelerate just a little bit,” Kirk mentioned after the opening spherical of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

“I had bother sleeping a number of nights, however fortunately, I used to be in a position to take some naps. I slept nice [Wednesday] night time. I’m actually attempting to not over-exert myself. I had a few good exercises within the gymnasium Monday and Tuesday to really feel such as you’re flushing issues out and getting the blood flowing.”

Fortunately for Kirk, he lastly settled down on Wednesday and slept effectively on the eve of the Sony Open. That undoubtedly helped him card a 4-under 66 on Thursday, as he sits 4 pictures behind Cam Davis.

Picture by Michael Reaves/Getty Photographs

Solely 5 gamers sit between Kirk and Davis, who shot a improbable 8-under 62 in blustery situations.

“Very stable. I hit the ball nice immediately in robust situations,” Kirk mentioned of his opening spherical.

“It’s been a number of years since we performed on this a lot wind right here. Numerous years since we performed on this wind path. From what I keep in mind, often, when it blows out of the west like this, it’s comparatively gentle. So a few of these holes, a few of the par-4s, we’re used to hitting driver and a wedge in, and [instead] it’s a drive to mid to lengthy iron.”

Kirk has performed on the Sony Open in Hawaii yearly since 2011, so he is aware of his method round Waialae Nation Membership in Honolulu.

He completed solo third final yr and tied for 2nd in 2021. He additionally recorded back-to-back top-5 finishes in 2013 and 2014.

“Positively don’t thoughts when it blows right here and performs just a little bit more durable,” Kirk added. “I’ve had some good outcomes right here in plenty of completely different situations.”

The wind will blow steadily once more on Friday, with gusts as much as 25 miles per hour anticipated.

However that won’t trouble Kirk, much like how his lack of sleep earlier within the week didn’t trouble him both.

Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Be sure you take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.