Jason Kokrak maintains three-stroke advantage
MIAMI, Fla. – Jason Kokrak held steady during a windy third round at the Miccosukee Championship and maintained his three-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s finale. Kokrak fired a 3-under 68 and his 15-under 198 total is three better than Florida’s Matt Every (67).Chris Nallen (66) and Roger Tambellini (67) share third place, four back of the leader.
South Carolina’s Mark Anderson (66) and England’s Greg Owen (66) share fifth place, five behind Kokrak, who is in search of his second win in the past five weeks.
“It allowed for players hitting the ball well to play well,” Kokrak said of the 10-20 mph winds. “It kept somebody from shooting 7, 8 or 9-under par today. I had a fair lead to start the round and I knew it would play to my advantage.”
Kokrak started with a three-shot bulge and saved par on his first two holes, the second from about 18 feet. From there he added three birdies and was up by six at the turn.
“I knew I was up by a comfortable margin,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I played conservatively on the back, I just made sure that if I was going to miss, it would be on the right side of the hole.”
With most of his closest challengers unable to mount a charge, Kokrak miscues didn’t cost him. He hit only half the fairways and only 12 greens in regulation but managed his game and never saw his lead drop below three strokes.
He was up by four after a thin 8-iron tee shot wound up two feet from the cup at the par-3, 17th hole. The lead was cut to three when his 18-inch par putt on the final hole did a 360-degree spin out of the cup.
“It was just like any other day,” he said. “I put myself in solid position and hopefully I can do that again tomorrow.”
Every rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the closing hole to grab a spot in Sunday’s final pairing.
“You’ve got to realize the value of par out here today,” he said. “Even on the easy holes, when you make a par, it’s not the worst thing in the world. “
Third-round notes:
* The largest 54-hole lead on the Nationwide Tour this year is 8 strokes by Steve Wheatcroft at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open. J.J. Killeen led by four at the Cox Classic. Both Wheatcroft and Killeen won those events. No other player has held a lead greater than two strokes in the other events.
* Kokrak’s three-shot lead ties the largest 54-hole lead in Tournament history. Craig Bowden was up by three in 2003, the Tournament’s initial year. Bowden needed only an even-par 71 in the final round to win by one.
* Jason Kokrak could guarantee himself a place among THE-25 leading money winners for the 2011 season with a win this week. Kokrak is No. 15 on the money list and the first-place check for $108,000 would push him over the $300,000 mark for the year and get him to No. 4 with only two events left to play.
* Luke List, playing in the final pairing with leader Jason Kokrak, stumbled badly on the opening nine with an 8-over 43 that knocked him out of contention. List had six bogeys and a double-bogey to start his day. He two-putted eight times and three-putted on the other hole on the front. He finished with an 8-over 79 and dropped into a tie for 56th place.
* Harris English, who turned pro three weeks ago, continues his impressive summer play. English fired a 4-under 67 Saturday and is now 9-under for the week and T7. After graduating from the University of Gerogia in May, English won the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational in July as an amateur. He continued to play amateur events and closed out his career as a member of the United States’ Walker Cup team.
English finished T49 in his pro debut at the Soboba Golf Classic. He lost a playoff the following week to Danny Lee at the WNB Golf Classic but missed the cut at last week’s Children’s Hospital Classic in Chattanooga, where he attended high school. English is No. 81 on the money list and has two weeks to get into the top-60 on the money list and qualify for the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island.
* The best scores posted each day:
Thursday -- 63 Jason Kokrak, Daniel Chopra
Friday -- 64 Matt Hendrix, Matt Every
Saturday -- 66 Mark Anderson, Justin Bolli, Garth Mulroy, Chris Nallen, Greg Owen
* England’s Greg Owen birdied four of the last six holes for a 5-under 66. His is at 10-under and T5.
* Leading money winner J.J. Killeen (70-70) missed the cut this week by one shot. This is only the third missed cut of the year in 23 starts for Killeen, who won back-to-back events this summer at the Utah Championship and the Cox Classic. Killeen is assured of being No. 1 on the money list come Sunday because the only two players who could have passed him -- No. 2 Mathew Goggin (73-69) and No. 3 Ted Potter, Jr. (72-69) – both missed the cut as well.
* 23 of the top-25 money winners were entered this week and seven of them did not make it to the weekend. Among those missing the cut were: J.J. Killeen (No. 1), Mathew Goggin (No. 2), Ted Potter, Jr. (No. 3), Kyle Reifers (No. 13) Steve Wheatcroft (No. 14), Scott Brown (No. 17) and Josh Broadaway (No. 23).
* Here’s a quick look to see where the current leaders stand on the money list after 54 holes:
1. Jason Kokrak No. 15
2. Matt Every No. 16
3. Chris Nallen No. 73
Roger Tambellini No. 76
5. Mark Anderson No. 53
Greg Owen No. 50
7. Harris English No. 81
Matt Hendrix No. 44
Brad Elder No. 80
* There is also a good deal of attention being paid to the top-60 on the money list. Only the top-60 money winners following next week’s Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open will advance to the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island the following week and have a chance to earn their PGA Tour cards for the 2012 season. Here’s how the “bubble list” list looks after 54 holes:
56. Charles Warren m/c
57. Andrew Buckle m/c
58. Alistair Presnell T21
59. James Hahn m/c
60. Nicholas Thompson T27
61. Craig Bowden T21
62. Jon Mills m/c
63. James Sacheck m/c
64. Doug LaBelle II m/c
65. Josh Geary m/c
66. Tim Wilkinson T38
* Miguel Carballo, winner of last week’s Children’s Hospital Classic, has posted scores of 69-70-69 and is 5-under and T27.
* Defending champion Jason Gore stands T48 after rounds of 66-73-71.
* Jonas Blixt’s bogey on No. 5 today was his first bogey of the week. He was the last player in the field to make a bogey this week.
* There is only one full-field event on the schedule after this week – the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open, Oct. 20-23.
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