Golfer Chris Kirk won the Honda Classic recently, bringing him his first PGA Tour triumph in nearly eight years. But Kirk said the real victory is his sobriety, the support he’s received, and the “grace of God.”
“I owe everything that I have in my entire life to my sobriety,” Kirk said after his win. “I wouldn’t be doing this for living anymore, I probably wouldn’t have the family that I have currently anymore.”
The pro-golfer, who is nearly four years sober, said he was “getting really close to losing everything” he cared about when his alcoholism came to a head.
Kirk, 37, said his ability to move past his struggles can be credited to the Lord and those who helped him along the way.
“For that to have happened and worked out for me, obviously, it was some decisions that I made, but mostly the grace of God,” he said. “And a lot of other people that really helped me along the way.”
In the end, Kirk said winning the Honda Classic is wonderful, but, in light of how far he’s come, it’s a “bonus” to the other blessings he has received.
“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,” Kirk said.
Kirk, who took home $1,512,000 for securing his Sunday win, walked away from golf in 2019 amid struggles with alcoholism and depression, The Associated Press reported.
“I just have so much to be thankful for,” Kirk recently told the outlet. “I’m so grateful for my sobriety, I’m so grateful for my family, I’m so grateful for everyone that has supported me throughout the past three or four years.”
Keep praying for Kirk as he embarks on his journey.