NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. – In his 10th season and after his 233rd tournament, Jason Kokrak can finally call himself a PGA Tour winner.
Kokrak earned every bit of it Sunday in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, where the 35-year-old American matched the best round of the tournament with an 8-under-par 64 to overcome a three-shot deficit entering the final day and win a back-nine duel with Xander Schauffele (66).
“To wait this long for my first win, it’s a pretty special thing,” said Kokrak, who finished at 20-under 268, with Schauffele two back. “Couldn’t be happier.”
Kokrak, already in the field for this year’s Masters, qualified for the 2021 edition of the Georgia major with Sunday’s win.
The timing couldn’t have been better. The CJ Cup moved from South Korea this year to Shadow Creek because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kokrak is an ambassador for MGM Resorts, which owns the prestigious Tom Fazio design, and he has played the course some two dozen times.