CJ Cup: Jason Kokrak earns first PGA Tour win in Las Vegas

After nine years and 232 starts, Jason Kokrak can finally call himself a winner on the PGA Tour after winning the CJ Cup on Sunday.

Jason Kokrak has made a very nice living on the PGA Tour, with career earnings prior to this week of over $13 million in prize money. But heading into Sunday’s final round at the CJ Cup, he was still looking for his first win on tour.

That ended on Sunday when Kokrak rallied from three shots behind Russell Henley at the beginning of the day to win at the CJ Cup. His round of eight-under par 64 was good enough to beat Xander Schauffele by two shots.

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The tournament basically turned into match play on the back nine, with Kokrak and Schauffele tied for much of the round. But on the 16th hole, a par five, Kokrak made par while Schauffele suffered a bogey. From there, Kokrak was able to par the 17th and the 18th, which was enough to win by a shot.

Kokrak, a native of North Bay, Ontario, Canada, had been runner-up three times during his nine years on the PGA Tour. His first runner-up finish came at the Frys.com Open in 2012, Kokrak’s first full season on tour. He had another second-place finish at the Northern Trust Open in 2016. Then in 2019, he was runner-up at the Valspar Championship.

But Kokrak was still looking for a win. His last wins came in 2011 on the Korn Ferry Tour. That season, he won twice, claiming the title at the Albertsons Boise Open and the Miccosukee Championship. Those were the wins that got him promoted to the PGA Tour on a full-time basis.

Kokrak came into this week in Las Vegas ranked 53rd in the Official World Golf Rankings, a number that’s going to be going up this week. He will also vault up the FedEx Cup standings from his 83rd spot prior to the week to a projected landing spot of fourth.

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For someone who is beginning his 10th season on tour, this win has to be especially sweet for Kokrak. And it’s also a great way for the 35-year-old to start his season on tour. Now that he has the monkey off his back, Kokrak could very well go on to win more events in the near future.

For Jason Kokrak, this win has been a long time coming. What better place to get your first win than Las Vegas, where celebrating is something the town is known to do very well.

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