Good morning, ladies and gents. This weekend had two MLB Game 7s, full slates of football, and trips to the pumpkin patch, so we don’t blame you if you missed some (okay, all) of the golf. Luckily, you have this newsletter to catch you up. You’re welcome.

Like a fine wine

No one beats Jason Kokrak 233 times in a row. In his 10th season on the PGA Tour, the 35-year-old veteran finally got his first career win at the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek. Kokrak and Xander Schauffele, who were paired up in the second-to-last group, combined for 15 birdies on Sunday. Ultimately, Kokrak’s 64 bested Xander’s 66. CJ Cup Results

Known for his skill with the driver, Kokrak got it done with his putter at Shadow Creek. He made 14 putts over 10 feet this week—the most he’s holed in a single event in his PGA Tour career—and he gained more than 10 shots on the field with the flatstick. For reference, he hasn’t finished inside the top 100 in season-long Strokes Gained: Putting since 2014.

Kokrak has long been a poster boy for the dominance of driving distance in the modern professional game. For much of his career, he has maintained great SG: Off-the-Tee numbers while hovering below average in other statistical categories. Nevertheless, he has accumulated more than $14 million in career earnings and has held onto his PGA Tour card every season since 2012. Lately, however, Kokrak’s iron-play and putting numbers have been trending upward. At the age of 35, he appears to be rounding out his skill set. Could Jason Kokrak’s best be yet to come?

Other CJ Cup notes

Xander Schauffele, after a solo second at the CJ Cup, now has six runner-ups and 17 top 10s since his last PGA Tour victory in 2019. He now has three consecutive top 5s, ten consecutive top 10s, and the No. 7 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Schauffele may be the most consistent golfer on tour right now, but we’re a little surprised he hasn’t won this year.

It wasn’t the week Tyrrell Hatton envisioned when he shot 30 on his opening nine holes on Thursday, but a T-3 is nothing to whine about. He’s now No. 9 in the OWGR, the best ranking of his career.

Playing in the penultimate group on Sunday with Kokrak and Schauffele, Jason Day withdrew with a neck injury on the second hole. Day said he could barely move his head and neck before the round. The injury-prone Aussie now has 10 WDs in his PGA Tour career.

Houston, who are all these people?

The PGA Tour announced on Friday that next month’s Houston Open will be the first event to allow fans since the Tour returned in June. Two thousand tickets will be available each day. Masks will be mandatory for fans, and given that the Houston Open is the week before the Masters, we can expect players to keep their distance. Press Release

Quick Hooks

Adrian Otaegui started the Scottish Championship with a blistering 63, but after two rounds of 70, his title hopes appeared tenuous. But the Spaniard closed with 62 to win by four strokes at Fairmont St. Andrews. Matt Wallace, the 54-hole leader, came up short on Sunday, but his runner-up is his highest result in more than a year. Aaron Rai continued his strong play with a third-place finish. Scottish Championship Results

Phil Mickelson won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic on the PGA Tour Champions, joining Bruce Fleisher and Jim Furyk as the only players to win their first two senior tour starts. Both Furyk and Phil have achieved the feat this year. Dominion Energy Charity Classic Results

A handful of the NCAA’s best golf teams are competing at the Maridoe Invitational outside of Dallas. Pepperdine, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor headline the field. Leaderboard

Omar Uresti, who earned $4,758,048 in his career as a tour player, won the Senior PGA Professional Championship by six strokes. Should give him a great story to tell his Saturday morning junior clinic.

The Latest from the Fried Egg

Shotgun Start: The Kokrakheads get their fix, Phil “pops” the Senior Tour, Omar Uresti returns

Brendan and Andy react to the breakthrough win for Jason Kokrak after 10 years and 232 starts on the PGA Tour. Unsurprisingly, there’s a sudden digression into hollering about the subject of no CT testing happening since the Return to Golf. They also discuss the persistent odds integration into the broadcast, some good things they saw at Shadow Creek, and the celebration that may be taking place among the troops at PXG. On the European Tour, Adrian Otaegui is labeled as being in “George Coetzee territory” and there’s ample follow-up on the Home of Golf controversy as well as the fact that they played lift, clean, and place in Scotland. Phil’s “circus act” on the Champions Tour netted him another win in the 50-and-over set, and so they ruminate on what a driver with “extra pop” means for Augusta. Speaking of beating up on the older guys, Omar Uresti has now brought his club pro scheme to the Senior PGA Professional Championship with a dominant six-shot victory. They react in frustration and amusement to this before signing off with some quick news on the Houston Open allowing fans. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Pro Shop

We don’t have any heavily edited photos of heavily manufactured Shadow Creek in our pro shop, but we do have some lovely natural-light shots of Ballyneal, Mammoth Dunes, Streamsong, Sweetens Cove, and more. Shop today!