PGA Tour and DP World Tour wins for Chris Kirk and Marcel Siem 'heartwarming'

Chris Kirk joined the PGA Tour in 2007 and won the last of his four previous victories in 2015

Professional golf may be beset by rancour and division, but last week's heartwarming successes on the PGA and DP World Tours give the game plenty to celebrate.

After German veteran Marcel Siem ended an eight-year wait for his fifth European tour win, American Chris Kirk snapped a similarly long streak as he enjoyed a victory at the Honda Classic in Florida that was every bit as meaningful as it was dramatic.

It was a triumph that did not herald the popping of champagne corks, rather the soft click of a celebratory diet cola, because this marked the 37-year-old's first tour win in nearly four years of sobriety.

Kirk prevailed in a play-off against 34-year-old rookie Eric Cole at PGA National after squandering a one-shot lead by finding water at the 72nd hole. His ambitious approach cannoned off the wall that borders the green and into the drink.

He would probably use a different term for water penalty areas, having turned his back on alcohol on 29 April, 2019 - a date etched in his memory.

Kirk had awoken hungover in New Orleans, still wearing the same clothes from the night before, and it was a scenario that had become far too familiar. He had already given up beer because it was making him fat, but had swapped in hard liquor.

He knew it was time to do something. He went to his home in Athens, Georgia, and talked to his wife, Tahnee before calling his agent. He told them he had to stop playing and get himself sober.

Kirk had a decent playing record, climbing to 16th in the world rankings, but 30 weeks alone on the road was killing him as a person. The 37-year-old backed out of the game for the summer of 2019.

Then he bravely announced on Twitter why he had been away, before making his comeback in the November of that year. "When I first came back to playing I was very open and honest about it," he said.

"It was for me because I felt I had lived this life for a number of years where I was just lying to myself, lying to my family, hiding a lot of things."

He was speaking while reflecting on last Sunday's near perfect wedge at the first play-off hole on the Champion Course at Palm Beach Gardens. It gave him his fifth PGA Tour win and first since 2015.

"I'm just so thankful to be able to do what I do for a living," he said.

"I owe everything that I have in my entire life to my sobriety. I wouldn't be doing this for a living anymore. I probably wouldn't have the family that I have currently anymore.

"I came really close to losing everything that I cared about."

Kirk can now look forward to the Masters for the first time since missing the cut on his third appearance there. He knew he was getting close, clinging to a top-50 position that would earn him a return to Augusta.

"That's usually not something I care a whole lot about, but I have not played the Masters since 2016," Kirk said.

"And growing up in Georgia, that kind of means everything to me. So I've been watching that world ranking closely, trying to stay in the top 50."

This win alone guarantees his spot at the first men's major of the year, which takes place from 6-9 April. Kirk's two eldest sons were too young to have any idea about the Masters last time he was there, but not this time.

"They'll be 11 and 9, and Wilder, my third son, will be five. That par-three contest can't come soon enough. I'm really looking forward to that.

"Just to be able to make those memories with my wife and my kids will be awesome."

For Cole, the man Kirk beat in the play-off, there was the consolation of a runners-up cheque for $915,600 (£765,000).

He is the son of tour winner Bobby Cole and former LPGA rookie of the year Laura Baugh, After years of battling and winning on mini tours, he has taken a massive step towards retaining his status on the main circuit.

And from a British point of view there was also good news with another impressive week from Ben Taylor who finished in a share of fifth place to collect $288,120 and move up to 27th in the FedEx Cup standings.

This was a third top-five finish in his past eight PGA Tour events for the Florida-based 30-year-old from Epsom. He was playing on what he now considers to be his home course.

And to complete the feel-good factor from what was the last Honda Classic, with the sponsors ending their 42-year association with the event, Ryan Gerard came through Monday qualifying to finish fourth.

This is another example of how golf has an uncanny knack of serving up the odd fairytale even in an era that involves so many dominant big names. Those superstars are back in action at this week's $20m Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

As for Siem, one of European golf's most enduring characters, there was much to celebrate in his DP World Tour triumph at the Hero Indian Open last Sunday.

The 42-year-old hunted down German compatriot Yannick Paul, nervelessly holing a three footer at the last for a one-shot win prompting him to yell "wow".

He said: "This means a lot because two years ago I wasn't even sure if I could still compete, and now I'm a winner again."

These performances coincided with the start of the second season of LIV Golf, the Saudi Arabia funded circuit that has prompted so much discussion and argument around the men's game.

Their opening tournament lacked the dramatic climaxes that have been the hallmark of the established tours this year with a comfortable four-shot win for US veteran Charles Howell III and a nine-stroke victory for his Crushers team, which includes England's Paul Casey.

For Howell - like Kirk a man with strong Georgia roots - coming out on top in the 48-man field over 54 holes netted him $4m. But it meant more than just money for a 43-year-old who won only three times in 609 starts during 20 years on the PGA Tour.

"I've played a lot of golf tournaments in my life, and I haven't won a lot of them, and you have the doubts and the feelings, will you ever win again?" he admitted.