Jason Kokrak

Save for his rookie season on the PGA Tour, Kokrak has been a productive golfer his entire career, but it's only been in the past few years that he's really upped his game. Kokrak sniffed the top 30 just once in his first seven seasons on the PGA Tour, but in the past three, he's finished the season comfortably in the top 20 twice. The 2020-21 season was by far his best on the PGA Tour as he posted two wins and more than $5 million. It was certainly a great year, but the upcoming season has all the signs of a regression. Kokrak simply set the bar way too high for salary cap purposes this season. Expect some regression in his overall numbers as well as two more wins this season seems highly unlikely.

Kokrak posted career-high numbers during the 2018-2019 season, his eighth on the PGA Tour and heading into this past season it was fair to wonder if he would use it as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Kokrak failed to capitalize on his career year, however, as he fell back into his normal routine of earning between $1 and $2 million. Since Kokrak has spent most of his time in that range, it doesn't make sense to take him in a salary cap format this season as he'll likely end up in the same spot again next season.

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the top-20 from this past season. While Kokrak ended up in the 14th spot on the FedEx list, his money would have put him beyond the 30th spot. With that said, this past season was Kokrak's best as he made the cut in 23 of 24 starts and banked over $2.3 million. Kokrak didn't really have many high-end finishes, but that's never been his game. He makes cuts, plays okay on the weekend and cashes decent-sized checks. Not exactly a great recipe for significant improvement though.

That's not a misprint. Kokrak nearly cracked the top-50 on the FedEx points list last season. He did so without a win or a runner-up finish, so how did he do it? Though Kokrak has only one top-3, he did have 11 top-25s. That's exactly how you fly under the radar to a 52nd-place finished on the FedEx points list. That's been Kokrak's m.o. since day one however as he's posted only four top-3s in his seven years on the PGA Tour, but he makes a ton of cuts and usually ends up with several top-25s. Kokrak has average over eight top-25s per season over his past five seasons, which means his floor is relatively high, but his ceiling is relatively low.

Kokrak's 2016-17 season was a lot like his previous five seasons on the PGA Tour – solid, but not spectacular. In six seasons on the PGA Tour, Kokrak has earned as much as more than $1.9 million and as little as just under $1 million. Kokrak makes a majority of his cuts and he winds up in the top-25 about a third of the time. The problem is, he rarely has high-end finishes. Kokrak has only three top-3s in his six years on the PGA Tour and there's really no reason to think that he'll suddenly become a guy who contends every week. With that in mind, he's not a good salary cap option this season.

Kokrak started on the PGA Tour in 2012 and although things didn't go as planned that first year, he's managed to play well enough to retain his card every year since. Last season was his best to date as he posted a career-high earnings number. He also made 17 cuts, also a career-best and nine top-25s, tied for a career-best. Kokrak is on the way up, but he made such a large jump last season, that it's hard to imagine he can duplicate the performance. As such, he's not a good salary cap option this year. In drafts, he's a sixth-round selection.

Judging by his percentage of cuts made each year, it appears as though Kokrak is improving. After making the cut in under half of his starts as a rookie, he improved that percentage to 60% in his second season and improved again last year to just over 2/3rds of his starts. He's also improved his percentages of top-25s as well. In fact, of the 13 cuts he made last year, 10 of those resulted in top-25s. He's still lacking the high-end finishes that would put him over the top. They may come in due time, but to bank on the high-end finishes this year would not be wise. In draft leagues he should go around the 10th round.

Nothing spectacular about Kokrak's 2013 season. His season was highlighted by a top-3 at the AT&T National in June and he earned three additional top-10s, but he also missed the cut in 40% of his 25 starts. The good news is that he's off to a good start in the 2013-2014 portion of the season with two top-25s and one top-10 in three tries. Kokrak needs a little more consistency in 2014, but he's close enough to warrant a look in salary cap leagues. In draft leagues he should go in the 60-70 range.

If not for the fall season, Kokrak would have finished well outside the top 125. Entering the month of October, Kokrak had earned less than $200K, but that's what the fall season is all about, players making one last charge into the top 125. Considering how he went about gaining his card for the this season, though, it's hard to imagine Kokrak will get much done during the regular season this year.

Talk about upside. In only 16 events on the Nationwide Tour last season, Kokrak won twice and collected five Top-10s. This after missing the cut in three of his first four events. Whatever he did after those first four events, he needs to keep doing, because with that kind of high-end ability, he has a chance to finish in the Top 125 this season.