Warren’s Kokrak leads by 3 strokes in Miami

Staff report

Miami

A missed putt that did a 180 was the worst part of Jason Kokrak’s day — and that wasn’t bad, either.

The try on No. 18 on Saturday cut into the Warren JFK graduate’s lead at the conclusion of the third round of the Nationwide Tour’s Miccosukee Championship at Miccosukee Golf & Country Club.

The 26-year-old Kokrak has a 3-shot lead 198 total going into today’s final round. Matt Every is next with 201.

“I missed a short little putt when it went in the hole and came back at me,” Kokrak said. “It was a 180 thing that went in the right side of the cup, curled around the lip, then came out of the front of the hole.

“It’s no big deal. No harm, no foul. For the most part, I played solid golf all day.”

Instead of being 16-under par (197) with a 4-shot cushion, Kokrak’s margin was narrowed to 15-under (198) with a 3-shot lead. His third-round score was 69.

“I’ll be out to make it up on [today] as long as I play solid golf,” he said. “I’ll be OK tomorrow.”

If rain doesn’t interfere, Kokrak will likely be paired with Matt Every today. Rain would force the players into threesomes, with earlier tee times.

Kokrak had some errant tee shots, but he managed to bring his play under control to increase his birdie opportunities. He was 3-under after the front nine.

“I had bogeys, but I got those back on 16 and 17. But I made bogey on that last hole to finish two-under [two-under on the 7,200-yard par 71 course],” Kokrak said. “If those errant tee shots straighten out tomorrow, I’ll be OK.”

A victory today would give Kokrak his second Nationwide Tour win in less than a month. His first tour victory was on Sept. 18 in Boise, Idaho.

When asked about his emotions, he said: “I talk about controlling heart rate, but you can’t get too high while making birdies, because you’re going to get bogeys. But you’ve got to keep those jumps and dips under control.”