2024 The Sentry leaderboard, scores: Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler chasing Chris Kirk into final round

Kirk will need to hold off some of the best players in the world if he is to start his new year with a bang

The ever-stoic Chris Kirk heads into the final round of The Sentry with the solo lead at 21 under over a star-studded chasing pack. Beginning his day with an early bogey, the 38-year-old battled back over his final 14 holes with eight birdies against no other dropped shots to sign for a 7-under 66. His final par breaker of the round came on the par-5 finisher and was enough to pull him ahead of Akshay Bhatia at 20 under.

"I kind of got back to doing my thing thankfully, but it was a difficult opening stretch," said Kirk. "That second hole, [the wind] was blowing so hard left to right and 3 and 4 were playing so long into the wind, kind of more like we saw on practice days. The first few holes were tough and then I was able to save a few pars there and get settled in after that."

Kirk has held the 54-hole lead six times in his PGA Tour career and converted three of those instances into trophies. If he is to do so again, it will be hard-earned as Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele lurk a couple shots back at 19 under. Managing the wind effectively like Kirk, Schauffele and Spieth made the most of their Moving Days to position themselves for their second Sentry titles.