PGA Tour golfer Chris Kirk gave a heartfelt message to Instagram followers on Monday as he reached five years of sobriety.
The former University of Georgia golfer battled alcohol issues after a successful beginning to his tour career and fell in the rankings until he decided to get help. He stepped away from the game on May 7, 2019, after becoming sober just over a week prior.
“Hey y’all, it’s April 29 and today I’m celebrating five years of sobriety,” Kirk said on the social media platform. “Five years ago I was completely hopeless and couldn’t see any way out. Thankfully I ran into a group of people that had once been hopeless just like me and showed me the way out.”
Kirk, who turns 39 on May 8, and his wife Tahnee, an Oconee County High School graduate, have three boys and live on 42 acres of farmland in Oconee County.
The caption in his post read, “The work never stops but I live a life of peace and contentment that I never knew was possible.”
A victory at the Korn Ferry Tour’s King and Bear Classic in the summer of 2020 was the beginning of his journey back to the PGA Tour. He regained his Tour card the next year and has become a steady figure on the tour once again, winning The Sentry tournament in Hawaii to open the 2024 season. He also won the Honda Classic (now Cognizant Classic) at the PGA National resort in 2023.
He’s currently ranked No. 24 in the world after closing 2023 at No. 52. His 2-over par at the Masters tied him for 16th to give him his best-ever finish at the tournament.
“Every good thing, every great thing, every awesome thing that I have in my life is 100% because I got sober,” Kirk said in the video. “God bless you, have a great day.”