American Jason Kokrak beat compatriot Jordan Spieth in the fourth round of the Charles Schwab Challenge tournament to claim his second PGA Tour title. after delivering a signed card of 70 (pair) and accumulating 266 (-14).
Kokrak played 233 PGA Tour events before claiming his first win, but he didn’t have to wait that long for his second title. And he also did it against a great rival like the Texan Spieth, who had been the leader the three previous days and in the end he was left with two more shots (268, -12).
“You stay in the moment and it’s a golf course. You are playing the golf course, you are playing yourself. Actually, you are not playing with Jordan,” Kokrak said. “But compared to some of the other players, I knew it was going to be a boxing match and see who was going to win.”
There were five bogeys and five birdies for Kokrak, who twice needed two shots to get out of the bunkers. There were also back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16 before a key eight-foot putt that saved par after his approach missed the 17th green.
But when he hit from five feet with a round end, he followed the ball to the cup and finally smiled as he celebrated with caddy David Robinson.
A large crowd of fans followed the only contending group throughout the day, most of them waiting to erupt by Spieth, a Dallas native, who started the round with a 1-hit lead before a ghost-filled 73, that left him the decisive day.
Kokrak, who is playing in his 16th tournament since winning the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in October, was joined by compatriots Bryson DeChambeau and Stewart Cink. as the only players with two wins on the PGA Tour this season.
Spieth, the 2016 winner at Colonial, was runner-up there for the third time after leading each of the first three rounds.
“I just didn’t play well at all,” Spieth said. “I could have shot the pair today and won the golf tournament, but from the beginning, it was a really bad start, And then I tried to fight to get over it. I was really out of my golf swing. I really lost it this weekend. You just have to be in control of Colonial. “
It was still his eighth top-10 finish in his last 11 starts this year, a top 10 more than the previous two seasons combined.
Along with the $ 1.35 million winner’s check and plaid jacket, Kokrak got a custom restored 1946 Schwab Power Wagon, a pickup truck with 40-inch wheels and a model date that coincides with Colonial’s first year, the longest-running PGA event at the same location.
American Charley Hoffman had a close of 65 (-5) to finish in a four-way tie for third place with 270 (-10).
He also had a 62 tournament record on Friday, but that was sandwiched by a couple of rounds of over-par (71 on Thursday and 72 on Saturday).
His compatriot Patton Kizzire (67, -3), Colombian Sebastian Muñoz (68, -2) and Englishman Ian Poulter (68, -2) also shared third place for a prize of $ 366,094 and 134 FedEx Cup qualifying points.
Along with Muñoz, Argentine Emiliano Grillo finished in eighth place, shared with five other players by delivering a signed card of 68 strokes (-2) and accumulate 274 (-6) with a compensation of a prize of 196,875 dollars.
Mexican Abraham Ancer finished fourteenth with 67 (-3) and 275 (-5), after going from less to more in the tournament that allowed him to win a prize of $ 125,625 in cash
While the Spanish Sergio García, 41, who started the day in third place with (-10) to 10 under to start the final round, and achieved the first of his 11 PGA Tour victories 20 years ago at the Colonial, bogeyed starting par 5, then double bogey three putt at No. 3. finished with a record of 76 (+6) and tied for 20th with 276 (-4).
His compatriot Rafael Cabrera finished in 32nd place with a signed card of 67 (-3) and accumulated of 277 (-3).
Mexican Carlos Ortiz finished in 40th place with 68 (-2) and accumulated 278 (-2); Chilean Joaquín Niemann finished the day with a record of 70 (pair) and 280 (pair) that left him at 50.
The veterans, the Colombian Camilo Villegas (70, even) and the Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas (71, +1) accumulated 286 hits (+6) and shared 69th place with two other players.
