WEEKEND UPDATE: 2010 eGolf Tour Leading Money Winner Jason Kokrak Wins Second Nationwide Tour Title of 2011


Jason Kokrak

By Stewart Moore

 

Miami, FL – Four-time eGolf Tour winner and 2010 leading money winner Jason Kokrak of Warren, OH collected his second Nationwide Tour win of 2011 on Sunday at the Miccosukee Championship in Miami, posting rounds of 63-66-69-66—264 for his second title in five weeks.

 

Kokrak took the eGolf Tour by storm in 2010, notching two wins and $115,000 in earnings in just 11 starts to win the tour’s money title. Kokrak entered 2011 with conditional Nationwide Tour status, but still took advantage of his eGolf Tour starts with two wins and a runner-up in just three events. Kokrak earned $85,460 in those three starts, which in turn put him at the top of the tour’s money list for the majority of the season and gave the former Xavier University standout over $200,000 in earnings in his last 14 eGolf Tour starts.

 

At the Miccosukee Championship, Kokrak opened the week with an 8-under 63 to share the day one lead with two-time PGA TOUR winner Daniel Chopra. The 18-hole tie was as close as anyone would come to Kokrak’s torrid pace for the remainder of the week.

 

In Friday’s second round, Kokrak birdied five of his first 12 holes en route to a 5-under 66 that put him alone atop the leaderboard at 13-under for the tournament.

 

A third-round 69 was dampened somewhat by a missed 3-foot par putt at the 18th, but Kokrak had nevertheless extended his lead to three shots over Matt Every heading into Sunday’s final round.

 

When Kokrak notched his first win at the Albertson’s Boise Open in September, he entered the final round in a tie for the lead, and sealed his two-shot victory with a final-round 67. In Miami, Kokrak once again seized the opportunity to ice the tournament with stellar play on Sunday.

 

Kokrak opened his final-round play with a birdie at the par-4 first at Miccosukee Golf & Country Club and eventually made the turn at 1-under 34 after a birdie-bogey stretch on Nos. 7 and 8. On the back nine, the long-hitting Kokrak simply pulled away from the field. Birdies at 11, 13 and 14 moved him to 19-under for the tournament, and when he birdied the par-3 17th for a second consecutive day, Kokrak had secured a second Nationwide Tour title with a stunning seven-shot victory.

 

"This is beyond my imagination. I don't know if it will hit me for a while," said Kokrak after his round. "I would never have dreamt this. At the beginning of the year you set goals that you want to meet and then you set some that maybe are a little out of reach. I've already exceeded all the goals that I set for myself this year."

 

The margin of victory was the fifth-largest in Nationwide Tour history, and was the largest in the history of the Miccosukee Championship. In addition, Kokrak’s 20-under par total set a tournament record for the event, which dates back to its inaugural 2003 playing.

 

“My confidence is through the roof. I don’t enter golf tournaments to lose or come in second — I enter each golf tournament expecting to win,” he said. “If you’re not confident on the golf course, it will show. In your scores, in your play and in your shots. If you’re confident out there, it will run over into your life.”

 

Kokrak’s final-round 66 tied the day’s low round, and allowed him to run away from the field and hide as rain pelted the greater Miami area and forced play to be suspended after the final group had finished eight holes.

 

The win, and the $108,000 first-place check, moved Kokrak from No. 15 to No. 4 on the Nationwide Tour money list with $301,592 in earnings. With his 2012 PGA TOUR card locked up, Kokrak will look for a win at one of the Nationwide Tour’s two remaining events with the hope of securing possible “Player of the Year” honors.

 

“The paycheck isn’t bad,” Kokrak told the Miami Herald after his round. “I really don’t know how to explain it. I planned on getting out here. And made goals for myself to Monday qualify as much as I could to just get myself onto this tour.”

 

Finishing second to Kokrak, a distant seven shots back, was eGolf Tour player Mark Anderson of Beaufort, SC. Anderson, who began the 2011 season with a T10 finish at the eGolf Tour’s Swiftwick Shootout at Palmetto Hall, recorded rounds of 65-72-66-68—271 to post his career-best Nationwide Tour finish.

 

Every, a former eGolf Tour player and PGA TOUR member, recorded his third top-5 of the Nationwide Tour season with rounds of 70-64-67-72—273 and a T3 finish in Miami. Every, who made five starts on the PGA TOUR earlier in the year, has played the Nationwide Tour full-time since May and has earned $206,466 via 10 top-25 finishes in just 18 starts. He is currently No. 15 on the Nationwide Tour money list, and has secured his PGA TOUR card for 2012.

 

Current eGolf Tour member Darron Stiles continued his good season on the Nationwide Tour, posting rounds of 71-66-69-68—274 and a T6 finish – his fourth top-10 in 21 starts on the year. Stiles, who played the eGolf Tour before earning full Nationwide Tour status with back-to-back top-10s to start the year, moved from No. 37 to No. 27 on the money list with $146,956 in earnings. Stiles, who lives in Pinehurst, NC, recorded T2 and T8 finishes to start the year, but missed six of seven cuts during a mid-season stretch before righting the ship with four made cuts in his last five starts.

 

Other eGolf Tour players to make the cut in Miami include Rob Oppenheim (T9), Martin Flores (T12), Jin Park (T12), Trevor Murphy (T18), Brice Garnett (T18), Matt Hendrix (T18), Garth Mulroy (T18), Roberto Castro (T29), Casey Wittenberg (T32), Camilo Benedetti (T32), Luke List (T41), Russell Knox (T41), James Nitties (T41), Jason Schultz (T41), Clayton Rask (T41), Gary Christian (T47), Andy Bare (T47), Kyle Thompson (T47), Brendon Todd (T52), Jimmy Lytle (T52), Elliot Gealy (T52), Bubba Dickerson (T61), Major Manning (T61), Stephen Gangluff (T61), Brad Klapprott (T61), Travis Hampshire (T65) and Chris Epperson (69). For complete results from the Miccosukee Championship on pgatour.com, please click here.

 

 

·         At the PGA TOUR’s McGladrey Classic in St. Simons Island, GA, former eGolf Tour player Michael Thompson led all alums with rounds of 65-65-67-69—266 and a career-best third-place finish. Thompson, who held the tournament’s 54-hole lead at 13-under, extended his lead early in Sunday’s final round with three straight birdies from Nos. 4 through 6 to move to 16-under for the week. On the back nine, however, Thompson bogeyed 12 and 18 to finish at 14-under and one shot shy of the tournament playoff between eventual champion Ben Crane and Webb Simpson. The third-place finish pushed Thompson’s 2011 earnings to $935,625 and moved the former University of Alabama star up to No. 94 on the PGA TOUR money list, which in turn solidified his card for the 2012 season. Finishing T11 was longtime eGolf Tour player Kris Blanks, who posted rounds of 67-68-66-70—271 for his sixth top-25 of the year and his second consecutive top-15 finish. After missing six of his first eight cuts to start the year, Blanks has made 14 of his last 20 cuts and has amassed earnings of $1,232,510 – good for No. 74 on the PGA TOUR money list. Other eGolf Tour players to make the cut at Sea Island include David Mathis (T15), Billy Horschel (T20), Matt McQuillan (T26), Cameron Tringale (T26), Kevin Kisner (T26), Blake Adams (T32), Josh Teater (T32), Jason Bohn (T44), William McGirt (T48), Brendon de Jonge (T60), Andres Gonzales (T60), Richard Scott (T64), Fabian Gomez (T64) and Ben Martin (68). For complete results from the McGladrey Classic on pgatour.com, please click here.