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Karzmer: Kokrak’s 76 was deceiving
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Warren JFK graduate Jason Kokrak watches his tee shot on the first hole Thursday during the first round of the Memorial at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin. Kokrak shot 76.
DUBLIN
It was a day of could-have-beens at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Thursday.
Jason Kokrak’s first PGA Tour round in his home state could be looked at in two different lights. From tee to green, he hit the ball about as well as he is able to.
“I plugged one shot in a bunker. Other than that I striped it all day,” Kokrak said.
I don’t know what the statistics will show, but after watching every shot Kokrak hit in the first round of the Memorial, I can tell you there were just two he’d like to have back. He pulled a tee shot on No. 2 and had an approach go wide right on the brutal No. 8. That one plugged in a bunker and led to double bogey.
Unfortunately, as good as Kokrak’s ball striking was, his putting was the complete opposite.
“I have no idea how I shot 76 today,” he said.
It started right away when his 15-foot putt for birdie on No. 1 somehow caught the left edge of the cup and failed to drop. A three-putt from the front fringe followed on the second hole and he was 1-over par.
The par-five fifth hole was looking like a game-changer for Kokrak. An iron off the tee and a perfectly placed second shot left him 6 feet for eagle. But his first putt ran 4 feet past the cup. The second missed as well.
That was the story of the day.
On difficult hole after difficult hole, Kokrak hit drives and iron shots to positions that should have led to an under-par round.
But unfortunately for the Warren native and a big gallery following the Warren JFK graduate and former Xavier University player, the flat stick had other ideas.
But Kokrak remains optimistic heading into today’s second round. He mentioned how well he hit it last weekend at Colonial and how he carried that to Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield layout.
Kokrak was aggressive all day.
He explained that his drives were so good that he was in great spots to be aggressive. He thought the pins were somewhat accessible. His approach shots were accurate as he aimed more for quadrants than pins on large greens.
If only the putter had cooperated.
Kokrak knows he has put himself a little behind if he wants to make the cut today.
But he doesn’t think it’s out of the question.
“I probably need 5-, 6- or 7-under tomorrow to make the cut,” Kokrak said. “I’ll maintain my aggressiveness and if I can get some 5- or 10-footers to drop ...”
He seemed determined to fix his problem late in the day.
“I’m going straight to the putting green for an hour or two,” Kokrak said.
If his ball striking is as good today as it was Thursday, a number low enough to extend his weekend at Muirfield might be possible.
Jonah Karzmer is a former golf professional who writes a Sunday golf column for The Vindicator. In his spare time he sells commercial insurance for Huntington Insurance and loves getting feedback on his weekly columns via email at jonah.karzmer@huntington.com