It took Jason Kokrak 233 starts on the PGA Tour to bag his first victory. It took only 16 more to get his second. The 36-year-old Kokrak just put a bow on a monster 2020-21 season, which included two wins, 12 top 25s, a T11 at the Tour Championship and more than $5 million in earnings.
He recently joined GOLF’s Subpar Podcast with hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz to discuss his season, how he got his putting on track and more.
Kokrak won The CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas in October 2020 for his first win, and his second victory came at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May.
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At Shadow Creek, one of the most expensive public courses in the world, Kokrak finished 1st in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining 10.291 strokes on the field. (That was also the key to his season; he ranked 6th in SG: Putting on the year after ranking 151st in that category the previous season.)
Kokrak credited a tweak to his putter length and his caddie’s superb green-reading skills as just some of the reasons for his turnaround on the greens, but he also said that for The CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, the greens were so perfect it made putting easy.
“Honestly, I’ve never played Shadow Creek that firm and fast before,” Kokrak said. “Normally it’s pristine, but kind of soft.”
“It’s immaculate,” Stoltz said. “Like Augusta Vegas.”
“Yeah, I would put them up against Augusta, that week, all day long, cause they were extremely fast,” Kokrak said. “I mean, they are always fast, but that week it was really fast.
“They were unbelievable,” he continued. “I mean, there wasn’t one spot on any part of the green that was a little bit bumpy. If you hit a good putt it would go in the hole.”
You can watch the full interview with Kokrak below.
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