Golf roundup: Jason Kokrak's wait for second PGA Tour victory much shorter

FORT WORTH, Texas - Jason Kokrak played in 233 PGA Tour events before getting his first victory. The big hitter didn't have to wait nearly as long to win again, though this one may have been more difficult to secure because he had to overcome a local favorite at Colonial Country Club.

Kokrak closed with a par round of 70 in a final-group showdown Sunday with Dalllas native Jordan Spieth, winning the Charles Schwab Challenge at 14-under 266. He was two strokes better than Spieth, who hit his approach from the rough at No. 18 over the green and into the water, making bogey to close out a 73.

"You stay in the moment, and it's a golf course. You're playing the golf course, you're playing yourself. You're not really playing Jordan," Kokrak said. "But for where we got to in comparison to some of the other players, I knew it was going to be a boxing match and see who was going to come out on top."

There were five bogeys and five birdies for Kokrak, who twice needed two shots to get out of bunkers. There were also back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16 before a seven-foot to save par after his approach missed the 17th green - but when he struck his round-ending four-footer, he followed the ball to the cup and finally broke into a smile.

A huge crowd followed the only contending group all day, most of them waiting to erupt for Spieth, who began the round with a one-stroke lead. Kokrak said he heard some negative comments and knew he "definitely was not the favorite."

"Naturally, you're going to pull for the hometown kid. I appreciate it. I appreciate the gamesmanship," Kokrak said. "Jordan was amazing all day. I'm glad to be standing victorious above a guy that's so good."

Kokrak, playing in his 16th tournament since winning the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in October, joined 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 a runner-up there for the third time after having at least a share of the lead each of the first three rounds. It was still his eighth top-10 finish in his past 11 starts this season, one more top-10 result than he had the previous two seasons combined.

Four players tied for third at 10 under: Charley Hoffman (65), Patton Kizzire (67), Sebastian Munoz (68) and Ian Poulter (68).

Cejka is 2-for-2

TULSA, Okla. - Alex Cejka won the Senior PGA Championship for his second straight major title, thriving on accurate and powerful ball-striking as well as a deft touch around the demanding greens at Southern Hills Country Club.

Cejka, who became eligible to compete on the PGA Tour Champions after he turned 50 in December, closed with a 3-under 67 and finished at 8-under 272 for a four-stroke victory over Tim Petrovic (67). South Africa's Retief Goosen (66) and South Korea's K.J. Choi (68) were another stroke back in third.

Cejka's victory came three weeks after he beat Steve Stricker in a playoff at the Regions Tradition, the tour's first major of the year.

"It's incredible," said Cejka, who also finished second at the Chubb Championship in April. "Seeing and knowing all those names who are up there on the trophy and being on the trophy myself, it's a dream come true."

Cejka fled Czechoslovaka with his father at age nine, settling eventually in West Germany, where he took up golf and turned pro at 18. He won three times on the European Tour in 1995, then added a fourth victory in 2002 before moving to the United States. He played on the PGA Tour from 2002 to 2011 before losing his status, then regained it in 2015, the year he won the Puerto Rico Open for his only victory on that circuit.

He joined the senior tour without enough career money winnings for full status, and he was an alternate at the Regions Tradition. He now not only has earned full status, he will be back at Southern Hills next year for the PGA Championship - where he will be slightly younger than reigning champion Phil Mickelson.

LPGA: Ewing wins

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Ally Ewing won the LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek, beating Germany's Sophia Popov 2 and 1 for her second tour victory. Ewing won the difficult par-4 14th with a birdie to take a 2-up lead, and she closed out the final against the reigning British Women's Open champ with a double-bogey halve on the par-3 17th.

The 28-year-old former Mississippi State University player's first LPGA Tour victory was at the Drive On Championship in October, when she was still playing under her maiden name of McDonald. On Sunday, she won on her first wedding anniversary with Charlie Ewing, who became head coach of the MSU women's golf program in December after working as an assistant since 2017.

In the semifinals, Ewing beat Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn 3 and 2, while Popov edged China's Shanshan Feng 1 up on another hot day in the desert. Feng, who had played 41 holes on Saturday, conceded the third-place match to Jutanugarn because of fatigue with the U.S. Women's Open only days away.

Repeat champion

FARSO, Denmark - Bernd Wiesberger repeated as champion at the Made in HimmerLand tournament, closing with a 7-under 64 to finish at 21-under 263 and win by five shots over Italy's Guido Migliozzi.

It's the eighth career European Tour victory for the 35-year-old Austrian, who on Sunday had six birdies in an eight-hole stretch starting with No. 8.

Migliozzi had the day's low round, a 63, to finish one stroke ahead of a tie for third between England's Richard Bland (66), Australia's Jason Scrivener (66) and England's Jordan Smith (65).

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