Jason Kokrak delivers a buzzkill at Colonial, defeating fan favorite Jordan Spieth



Jason Kokrak realized early in the third round Saturday that he wasn't going to be the fan favorite. Nothing Kokrak did would make him more popular than playing partner and Dallas native Jordan Spieth.

But, as Kokrak said following Saturday's round, "I'd be more than happy to spoil it for him tomorrow."

Well, Kokrak did just that Sunday. He overcame his own rough start and a number of hecklers in the crowd to win the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.

The 6-foot-4 Kokrak won $1.35 million, Colonial's signature plaid jacket and a 1946 Power Wagon presented as the champion's prize by Charles Schwab.

"I'm a big guy with a big truck with a big jacket and a big paycheck," Kokrak said, smiling. "So I guess everything's bigger in Texas, right?

"The truck, I looked at it the entire week. It's a little small in that cab for me, but I'll tell you what, it is a cool truck and I think it's something that I'll keep for myself for a long period of time to commemorate that victory."

Kokrak won the event at 14-under par following an even-par 70 on Sunday. Spieth, who entered with a one-shot lead, shot a 3-over 73 to finish runner-up and two shots back. Four players tied for third at 10-under, including Charley Hoffman, Patton Kizzire, Sebastian Munoz and Ian Poulter.

Spieth simply called it a bad round of golf.

"I was taking the club back and had no freaking clue where it was going to go," Spieth said. "It's very rare that you're in the lead or close to the lead on a Sunday when that's the case. It's not the most enjoyable feeling."

But Spieth kept things interesting until his approach shot on No. 18 landed in the water off the green. That eliminated any stress that Kokrak might have been feeling with a one-shot lead at the time.

"I was playing a flyer. I just didn't leave the face open enough," Spieth said. "I was trying to, it was going to jump so I needed to land in a pretty small section of the green to have a chance, and I just didn't hold the face enough and it just closed over. Obviously when it's going to jump, it's going to fly forever."

Kokrak and Spieth both struggled early on. Kokrak bogeyed two of his first four holes, while Spieth had three straight bogeys on Nos. 2, 3 and 4.

Kokrak took his first outright lead of the tournament by making a 23-footer for birdie on No. 5 as Spieth settled for par. Kokrak never trailed the rest of the way, although the pair was tied at 14-under going into the back nine after Spieth stuck it to within one foot for a birdie on No. 9.

Kokrak regained the lead by making a 13-footer for birdie on No. 11, and extended it to two shots by rolling in a 17-footer off the fringe for birdie on the par-3 13th.

Kokrak's lead dropped to one shot following a bogey on No. 16, but Spieth never made a true charge. Spieth didn't have one birdie on the back nine.

This marked the third consecutive Sunday at Colonial that Spieth entered in contention and posted an over-par round. To put it in perspective, Spieth had a stretch of 17 straight tournament rounds of par or better from the final two rounds of 2015 until the final round of 2019.

Spieth downplayed any notion that he puts added pressure on himself at a hometown event.

"I'm playing for myself. That's it," Spieth said. "The support is fantastic but I don't feel extra pressure over here. I kind of feel it more at the Byron. I don't know, just something about coming to a different city. The support is just as good. I mean, it's incredible.

"But, yeah, I had no excuses there. I just played poorly."

While Kokrak wasn't the ideal winner for Fort Worth golf fans, his victory is hardly surprising. He finished tied for third at last year's event and won his first PGA Tour event last fall at the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.

"It's very special to put my name on that wall with so many greats," said Kokrak, the 35th-ranked golfer in the world.