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PGA TOUR: THE CUT #2COLD OPENKOKRAK: Decent view. This would be a good one for the drone.?We are on the 11th?hole at The Southern Highlands where Drew Steckel teaches out of.?I come visit Drew out here in Vegas. Get a little prep work.?I live in Cleveland?so?it's nice to get out here in the sun?and you know, work with him.?STECKEL: Getting productive practicing is more important than just spending eight hours a day out here?so when we come?out?we get our work done?and we'll relax.?KOKRAK: You get to see all of downtown?Las?Vegas?and?we’ll?get a little bit of hangtime on this one.?That’s cart golf there?Stecks.STECKEL: Yeah that was nice. Convenient.WELCOME TO PGA TOUR THE CUTWHAT TO KNOWTHE?SWING AROUND THE ISLANDS?CONTINUES?THIS WEEK?AT THE SONY OPEN IN HAWAII, AND HERE’S A SLICE OF WHAT TO KNOW FOR THE WEEK AHEAD.?THE FIRST FULL FIELD EVENT OF 2021?FEATURES?12?PAST CHAMPIONS RETURNING TO WAIALAE COUNTRY CLUB, WHERE?PERFORMANCE ON THE?GREENS?IS?CRITICAL.? EACH OF THE PAST 11 WINNERS FINISHED TOP-10 IN STROKES GAINED:? PUTTING…?SMITH: This guy, what a good attitude he’s got.INCLUDING DEFENDING CHAMPION CAMERON SMITH, ONE OF 3 PLAYERS TO FINISH FIRST WITH THE FLAT STICK IN VICTORY.? LATER, A DEEPER LOOK INTO HIS PUTTING PROWESS?IN 2020.?SMITH IS ONE OF?30?PLAYERS MAKING IT A HAWAIIAN DOUBLEHEADER FROM MAUI TO OAHU.??NEARLY THREE QUARTERS OF THE?FIELD AT KAPALUA IS MAKING THE TRIP TO HONOLULU.?AMONG THOSE?DOUBLING UP?IS JASON KOKRAK, WHO’S WORK IN LAS VEGAS HAS BEEN PAYING OUT ALREADY THIS SEASON.?JASON KOKRAK?SPECKEL: Alright, let’s run through the spectrum. Month off coming out of the Cleveland weather.?KOKRAK: A little cold at home, hitting balls indoors?so it doesn't really give you that same feel?but from where I started with Drew and where I'm at today is you know head and shoulders way more consistent.? That's what I'm striving to do?is to become more consistent out here on TOUR instead of just being?more of a flash in the pan.??SPECKEL: Back in the saddle ready for the year. KOKRAK: Feels good.?STECKEL: He's fresh and driven to go start a new year.?Having his time off is as valuable as the time here.?KOKRAK: I almost forget some of my bad habits.?STECKEL: Yeah, sometimes it’s better because he comes back with a clean slate. Month off did you good. If you really kind of go back to the year it was crazy. ??KOKRAK: This time last year, I hadn’t played well?but?uh I think Drew and I found a feel we’d been trying to find for quite some time.?STECKEL: You were starting to get into form.?Like I felt you were really kinda feeling it at?The?PLAYERS.?KOKRAK: We?were?really playing?well. Starting to make some putts and drive it a little bit better and then all of a sudden the pandemic happened.??STECKEL: Once we started back up, it was an interesting year.?It was.?KOKRAK: I was right around 100 in the?FedExCup?so I needed to do something to you know get to the Northern Trust and then I had to do something to get to the BMW.?KOKRAK: In?Boston you know The Northern Trust final round, he had to make eagle to make it to the BMW.?ANNC: Jason?Kokrak, 78th, coming to this hole he’ll have to make a 3 to get inside the bubble.?Oh?my goodness!?KOKRAK: Yeah we hit it there but you still have to make a putt. You can hit as many shots as you want. If you can’t make the putt it’s not?gonna?do it.?ANNC: Nerves of steel. Final hole eagle.?STECKEL: It was like the year never ended and then it was straight into the restart again.?When he was?on?he was near the lead and he had chances on Sunday a couple back here and there so?he’s gonna?close the door it's just a matter of time. He was always too good not to.ANNC: Jason?Kokrak, he’s played this golf course quite a bit, an 80-1 longshot coming in.??KOKRAK: I’m comfortable here in Vegas. I spend more time than anywhere else out here. I think going into that Sunday,?I think Drew knew I had a really legitimate chance to win.?STECKEL: I knew his life was?gonna?change and I knew what a massive event?it was for him to win?that.?KOKRAK: I knew?coming down the stretch, I was?gonna?be able to do something special and win a big event?here in Vegas where I've got family. It looked calm on TV, but I definitely had the nerves going.ANNC:?64 final round, good enough for his first PGA TOUR win.?STECKEL: Now?that he knows he can close on a tournament?win, that's a huge monkey off of his back?and?is going to open the floodgates for him and his confidence level.?KOKRAK: Drew has been working with me for?a?long time and he's been kinda kicking me in the butt and being like, you should win two or three times a year the way you hit it.???SPECKEL: His driver’s always been the best club in his bag. He's always in position to score with his tee shots. So?if we get him to be above average iron player then he's?gonna?have a lot of chances all the time.?KOKRAK: Welp, I can’t hit 7-iron better than that. (Agreed)?I’ve always believed practicing with intent instead of just blindly being out here 8-9-10 hours a day.?SPECKEL: But, I love it?cuz?you get like two videos a day and you’re good. One swing, look, done. Not a video every swing.KOKRAK: Not every swing is?gonna?be the same you’re just trying to work on one particular thing and strive to get that feel.?SPECKEL: My goal with him has always been you know, one win a year.?You know, let's get into the mindset of?I?wanna?be in Maui every year. Goals are great but putting in?the?work?and seeing where it gets you is kind of the process we're going with.JASON KOKRAK FOLLOW BACKAS KOKRAK PREPARES FOR HIS SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK IN HAWAII, LET’S GIVE HIM A FOLLOW-BACK…??KOKRAK: Well, I’ve had somebody helping me with the Instagram but from a follow standpoint I don’t do a lot of posting.?I do have a couple videos of my good friend Pat Perez on here.?We tend to have a lot of fun a lot of laughs and, I think it lightens the mood. It's not all golf, not all business all the time. You got to have a little bit of fun.?I do a radio show on Sirius XM, “Crushing it with?Kokrak”?with Taylor?Zarzour. I do a little bit of out of bounds with Pat too?so I've kind of really fallen into that radio thing.?You know, I post about my kids. I really enjoy doing other stuff and spending time with the family?and you know enjoying myself instead of just grinding 24/7.BUMPSTILL AHEAD ON THE CUT…??SCHEFFLER: I didn’t really know how dramatic the elevation changes actually were. It’s a pretty wild piece of property.?SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER TAKES ON?KAPALUA FOR THE FIRST TIME…BUT FIRST…?CAMERON SMITH GEARS UP FOR HIS SONY OPEN IN HAWAII DEFENSE.?ANNC: Cameron Smith, taking his second PGA TOUR title. ?SMITH: It was just an unreal kind of month and a half there.CAMERON SMITHSMITH: I love it, I got it a few months ago back in Australia and just got bored sitting on the couch and decided to go out and get one, see what the hype was all about.Just a different perspective really, they’re pretty quick as well, I like to nip around and swoop some friends. So it’s just all in all it’s just fun.Got a very beautiful spot here and I’ll be sure to put them up on Instagram and stuff like that.JUST TWO YEARS AFTER EXPLORING THE ISLAND IN THE SKY, SMITH TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS ON THE GROUND AT WAIALAE.?ANNC: Cameron Smith, taking his second PGA TOUR title!IT MARKED HIS FIRST INDIVIDUAL TITLE AFTER CAPTURING THE ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS WITH JONAS BLIXT IN 2017.?SMITH:?It's kind of a bit of a monkey on the shoulder top deal. There's always that bit of background noise. Asking yourself if you can do it by yourself or not. So that was good to get that one ticked?off. I really didn't feel that great at the start of the week. I love the golf course?there,?I've had a good past there. Actually, the?Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of that tournament, I was a bit scared myself.PERHAPS A CARRY OVER FROM THAT EARLY WEEK CONCERN, SMITH BEGAN THE WEEK 4-OVER HIS FIRST 2 HOLES.? THAT MARKED THE HIGHEST OPENING TO AN EVENTUAL WINNER SINCE 2003.?HIS PUTTER WAS KEY IN CAPTURING THE TITLE.? SMITH LED THE FIELD IN STROKES GAINED:? PUTTING, AND IT WAS THE PUTTER THAT HELPED FUEL HIS COMEBACK IN THE OPENING ROUND.?AT THE 8TH?HOLE, HE FACED AN 11?AND A HALF FOOT?PUTT FOR BIRDIE AS HE WAS WORKING HIS WAY TOWARDS EVEN PAR.?ANNC: That is his second birdie in the last 8 holes.HOLING IT GAINED HIM JUST OVER EIGHT TENTHS OF A STROKE ON THE FIELD.???JUST TWO HOLES LATER AT THE 10TH, HE STARED DOWN A PUTT MORE THAN 20 FEET LONG.?ANNC: That is a birdie indeed for Smith.IT WAS HIS BEST PERFORMANCE ON THE GREENS THAT WEEK, ONE OF 4 BIRDIES ON THE CLOSING NINE.HIS?FLAT STICK WOULD COME IN HANDY AGAIN?ON THE FINAL HOLE SUNDAY, FACING AN?EIGHT-FOOTER?TO FORCE A PLAYOFF.?ANNC: And Cameron Smith buries it!IT WAS THE MOST STROKES HE GAINED ON?ANY?GREEN?IN THE FINAL ROUND.?PART OF THE MOMENTUM SMITH BROUGHT TO THE ISLANDS CAME FROM COMPETITION IN HIS HOMELAND JUST?A FEW WEEKS PRIOR.?SMITH: It was only two or three weeks after the Presidents Cup that we got back to Hawaii.?So,?there wasn't that long in between, one of the best?tournament?of the year and starting back up again.?SMITH WENT 1-1-1 IN HIS FIRST PRESIDENTS CUP EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING A VICTORY OVER JUSTIN THOMAS IN SINGLES.?ANNC: A little thunder from down under delivered by one of their own!SMITH WAS ONE OF 3 AUSTRALIANS ON THAT TEAM, AND HIS?VICTORY?AT WAIALAE?KICKED OFF A?STRETCH WHERE?EACH?CAPTURED TITLES IN A 6 WEEK PERIOD.?ANNC: Marc Leishman is the champion!ANNC: It’s?official! ?Victory number?14SMITH: Not only is?it?fellow countrymen, but Leish and Scottie are two of my best mates out here. So good to see them go after me and yeah, I mean it was just?a?unreal kind of month and a half there.?LEISHMAN SOT?- to see a close friend of yours have that same feeling that. It's just great to be to be happy for someone, see them succeed and live our dreams really, cause winning on the PGA TOUR is a dream of?all of?us.ALL THREE RETURN THIS WEEK TO HONOLULU, LOOKING TO START ANOTHER RUN OF?AUSSIE TITLES.?HTA VIGNETTEA PAST SONY OPEN IN HAWAII CHAMPION LIKE SMITH, PATTON KIZZIRE TOOK IN THE BEST HAWAII HAS TO OFFER IN 2018…??P. KIZZIRE: Lanai is just?an untapped island with just so much beauty and so much vegetation, and it's a really cool place.?You just do not realize there is so many things to do.?The UTV riding, the skeet shooting?there's endless activities.”??Can’t do any better than that.?K. KIZZIRE: You got the adventure side?and the?thrill-seeking?side…But then you also get a little history of the?island, and?got to see some really pretty areas.?P. KIZZIRE: The cart rides through the forest and all of the different scenery. It's fun to share all these experiences here with her and it's just such a great place to spend time with your family.?That was awesome.SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER AT KAPALUAANNC: Nicely done there. Made it to the TOUR Championship and got into the field here.ONE OF 7 PLAYERS MAKING THEIR DEBUTS AT LAST WEEK’S SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS, SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER TOOK IN THE SCENERY OF KAPALUA EARLY IN THE WEEK.?SCHEFFLER: I didn’t really know how dramatic the elevation changes actually were, because you can’t really tell on TV how much it actually changes and like where the course is built.?It’s a pretty wild piece of property.First time here, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I knew the golf course was?just a lot of wind, a lot of elevation changes, so for me just working on a lot of wind?shots and?trying to get ready to play in a lot of wind.Well, we got 99 yards.NATS: Yeah, 99 yards, plays up 3 so that’s 102 to the pin, you want to be just behind this one, so we’re looking to put it just behind the hole.SCHEFFLER: It’s tough to judge, you’re?kinda?guessing on a lot of stuff. So numbers are kind of irrelevant. We’re usually pretty feel based, sometimes we kind of have a number in mind that I’m trying to hit it, but most of the time we kind of just see a?shot.These days are fun, especially just coming, hanging out for a few days, practicing a little bit, getting to know the course, makes it a lot easier doing it here with friends.Oh my gosh. I was laughing at what we’re saying to you. Come on give me something.?Swing hard. Oh, look at you, you’re chatting on a Tuesday, congratulations.?He’s chirping on Tuesday.See when I looked over, you?threw?your club, so I thought you were mad.NATS: No, that was excitement.SCHEFFLER: That’s awful weird excitement.I’m a pin in guy this year. There we go, pin in guy.Wind got that one?? Let’s hit a few up to this one.Just tried to clean a few things up in the?offseason. I worked on my putting a lot, I didn’t feel like I putted as consistently as I hoped to last year, and that was pretty much my?main focus, and just getting better hitting distance shots, controlling the flight of the ball, stuff like that.?I’m just trying to get a feel for how these shots play. Like for instance I missed that one like 20 feet to the left because from here you can’t tell how far left it actually goes, and so that’s just a good thing I’ll write down in my book. Just a little note like that will serve me?well.Yeah, definitely a lot of motivation, I got a little bit of a taste of success out here and it was a lot of fun last year, so I definitely want to keep trending in the right direction and start playing a little bit better each week.SCHEFFLER?CONTINUED MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, CARDING 4 ROUNDS UNDER PAR?ON MAUI, AND NOTCHING HIS BEST FINISH OF THE SEASON, A TIE FOR 13TH, MOVING HIM UP TO?67TH?IN THE FEDEXCUP STANDINGS.?HARRIS ENGLISH WINS SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONSANNC:?There it is! Harris English the winner in a playoff here at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. And it has been a while. Back to the winner’s circle.???HARRIS ENGLISH TOOK ADVANTAGE OF A TOURNAMENT FIELD EXPANDED TO INCLUDE NOT?JUST 2020 WINNERS, BUT?ANY PLAYER WHO REACHED THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP,?TO CLAIM HIS FIRST WIN ON TOUR IN MORE THAN 7 YEARS.???ENGLISH: It feels amazing. All the hard work that has gone into this. All the highs and lows of golf that it brings over a career and I feel like I’ve gotten out of my valley and getting back to the quality of golf that I know I can play.???THE WIN REPRESENTS THE CULMINATION OF A PERIOD OF RESURGENCE FOR?ENGLISH WHO ENTERED LAST SEASON WITHOUT A FULL TOUR CARD AND RANKED 369TH?IN THE WORLD.???ENGLISH: The past few years has not been great on the golf course. Struggled tee to green a good bit and started working with a new guy at Sea Island. Getting back to the player I know I can be and a player I was throughout college and my first few years on TOUR and it’s been awesome seeing results on the golf course.???ENGLISH FINISHED THE WEEKEND IN MAUI AT 25 UNDER, HIS BEST TO PAR SCORE ON TOUR, AND WHILE THAT STAT IS IMPRESSIVE, THE STAT THAT?REALLY CATCHES THE EYE IS 5, AS ENGLISH BECAME THE 5TH?PLAYER THIS SEASON TO BREAK A WINNING DROUGHT OF 6 OR MORE YEARS.??ANNC: Stewart?Cink??ANNC: Martin Laird??ANNC: Brian Gay??ANNC: Robert?Streb?ANNC: Harris English.?The Drought is over.?FEDEXCUP STANDINGSENGLISH’S THIRD CAREER VICTORY MOVED HIM UP TO 2ND IN THE FEDEXCUP STANDINGS, THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 2013-14 SEASON HE’S RANKED THAT HIGH.SAVING SHOTSTHE CUT PRESENTS, SAVING SHOTSTHE TALENTED FIELD IN MAUI SAVED STROKES FROM ALL OVER THE GOLF COURSE AT THE SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS.?EN ROUTE TO VICTORY, HARRIS ENGLISH?GOT UP AND DOWN?7 OF 10 TIMES WHEN MISSING THE GREEN IN REGULATIONWHILE CAMERON SMITH CONVERTED NEARLY 74-PERCENT OF THE TIME RANKING 11TH?IN THE TOURNAMENT.?ANNC: How about?it?Cam. What a short game that guy has.AND PATRICK REED?FINISHED TOP-25 IN SCRAMBLING PERCENTAGE, THANKS IN PART TO HIS STELLAR BUNKER PLAY.?ANNC: Out of the bunker and into the hole. That’ll help your score!GOING LOW AT SONY OPEN IN HAWAII?AS?THE PGA TOUR LEAVES THE ISLAND OF MAUI AND HEADS TO OAHU FOR THE SONY OPEN IN HAWAII, LOW SCORES WILL BE ON THE MIND OF MANY PLAYERS.?WAIALAE COUNTRY CLUB?IS A?COURSE KNOWN FOR ITS BEAUTY, TOUGH FAIRWAYS, AND ABILITY TO PRODUCE GREAT ROUNDS OF GOLF.???HOWELL: I do like the golf course and it’s quite a bit different than?a lot of them that we play. It’s old style but there’s parts that can reward some length off the tee. There’s also some hole where you’re basically giving up trying to hit the fairway to get an angle into a green. It’s a nice change from the norm.??PLAYERS GOING LOW HAS BEEN A THEME AT THE SONY OPEN IN HAWAII.?SINCE 2003,?WAIALAE COUNTRY CLUB HAS PRODUCED 34 ROUNDS OF 62 OR BETTER. 2nd?BEST ON TOUR,?SURPASSED ONLY BY SEDGEFIELD COUNTRY CLUB, HOME OF THE WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP.???ANNC: Justin Thomas, completes the aloha double after winning at Kapalua he’s backed it here at?Waialae?at the Sony Open in Hawaii.???2017 CHAMPION JUSTIN THOMAS IS NO STRANGER TO LOW SCORES… TWICE CARDING?A SCORE OF?62 OR LOWER.?INCLUDING JOINING THE 59 CLUB EN ROUTE TO HIS TOURNAMENT TITLE.???THOMAS: It was a lot of fun. It was a day that doesn’t happen too often. I was hitting the fairways on my front nine. I figured I had a great chance some history to try to keep rolling.?I love this course.?It’s a place I like off the tee. There aren’t very many shots that aren’t comfortable to my eye and I was playing well, so it all worked out well.???17?PLAYERS WITH SCORES OF 62 OR BETTER AT THE SONY OPEN IN HAWAII ARE IN THE FIELD THIS YEAR, BUT?WITH WAIALAE RANKING AMONG THE TOP 15 TOUGHEST FAIRWAYS TO HIT 17 OF THE LAST 18 SEASONS ON TOUR, IT’LL BE UP TO PLAYERS TO FIND SUCCESS SCRAMBLING AND PUTTING TO SEE THAT RECORD OF LOW SCORES GROW THIS YEAR.?TOUR PLAYLISTIN THREE OF THE LAST SIX PLAYINGS ON OAHU, EXTRA HOLES HAS BEEN NEEDED TO DECIDE A WINNER, WHILE THE OTHER THREE SAW THE TITLE CAPTURED BY FOUR STROKES OR MORE.SONY ROLLOUTANNC: Life in the Pacific. So many?beautiful places to visit. So many things to do, Guarantees the scene never gets old. From Honolulu, on the beautiful island of Oahu, it’s the Sony Open in Hawaii.???ANNC: Watch this. Dead center.??ANNC: With that, here will be a playoff!??ANNC:?How about that?with?his 3rd?on 18!??ANNC:?Oh?maybe this one goes in!?Ooooo.???ANNC: How’s it looking? Well the bucket list of one?putts?continues.??ANNC: Matt?Kuchar?wins for the 9th?time in his PGA TOUR career.??ANNC:?Patton?Kizzire?wins the Sony Open.?ANNC:?Fabian Gomez is the winner at?Waiale.? ................
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