MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH
Morikawa captures the 102nd PGA Championship in his home state of California at TPC Harding
SAN FRANSISCO, CA–Any person remotely associated with the PGA saw this coming…Seeing Collin Morikawa’s play on tour is something like witnessing a tornado destined to hit your town from miles away outside of your window. You get a sense that something terrible is on its way towards you, but you are paralyzed by the sheer magnificence of the force. Instead of running away initially, you sit and watch, if only for minute…Then, just as you snap back to reality and frantically gather loved ones, precious resourses and finally begin to escape: you’re hit. The tornado has, in full-effect, indeed arrived.
In only his second major tournament, Collin Morikawa officially put himself on the scene this past week at TPC Harding Park. Morikawa’s sweeping performance laid waist to one of the most decorated and competitive Day 4 leaderboards’ in PGA Championship history. Morikawa’s steel demeanor and mental toughness pushed him past the field, finishing at 13-under, while also leaving us with a moment to remember hitting a shot for the ages to ensure his first professional major championship.
Morikawa’s triumph at TPC Harding was a true culmination of his complete skill set. He has an impressive control over his own game, remaining true to himself while not bowing to trends at the PGA Championship. Despite a modest 290.5 avg. on drives off the tee, Morikawa’s relied on his discipline which was displayed on the greens with his driving accuracy (69.64%), hitting 39 of 56 fairways, landing on the short grass a raw 70% of the time, well ahead of the field average of 50%. Morikawa is the first player since Louis Oosthuizen (2010 The Open Championship) to win a major while leading the field in driving accuracy. Morikawa’s master class putting (8.086) effectively shut the door on all other aspirants before they even realized what was happening.
HOME STATE VICTORY
Locals rejoice as Morikawa brings it home
PGA Championship Final Leaderboard
Collin Morikawa -13
(6-under round 4)
Paul Casey -11
Dustin Johnson -11
Matthew Wolff -10
Jason Day -10
Bryson DeChambeau -10
Tony Finau -10
Scottie Scheffler -10
THE AIR UP THERE
Morikawa scorched the back 9 and may have hit the shot of the year off his driver on 16th on his way to eagle and glory. MORIKAWA MADE 22 STRAIGHT CUTS TO BEGIN HIS CAREER AND AT 23, IS ONE OF THE YOUNGEST TO EVER WIN A MAJOR in pga tour history
CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVE
Morikawa’s Inner Drive: Revealed
“There’s a maturity there that at 23, it shouldn’t exist. The skillset that he has is a little different than what we see in a modern young player. But there are some intangibles there that we don’t necessarily have statistics or categories for. But you can see it when you watch him play, and it was on full display today. He won high level amateur events. This guy came out here ready to play. We’re seeing the job that these college coaches are doing in getting their players ready for the PGA TOUR.”
-Justin Leonard
MORIKAWA-ROUND 4
Hole |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
OUT |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
IN |
TOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Par |
4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
35 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
35 |
70 |
Score |
4 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
33 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
31 |
64 |
tournament Strengths:
driving accuracy: 69.64% (1st)
SG: putting-8.086 (1st)
SG: total-15.130 (1st)
Bogeys: 7 (17th)
Birdies: 18 (9th)
eagle(S): 1 (T-1st)
Dbl Bogeys: 0 (T-1)
MORIKAWA: BEST SHOTS-RD 4
Agent of Cool: California kid seizes his moment
Morikawa-TOURNAMENT STATS
Driving Distance |
Driving Accuracy |
GIR |
Putts per GIR |
Sand Saves |
Eagles |
Birdies |
Bogeys |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
290.5 |
69.6% |
70.8% |
1.686 |
66.7% |
1 |
18 |
7 |
The Los Angeles native precise drive off the tee on the 16th hole to set himself up for the eagle that locked up the Wannamaker Trophy will be lauded in the clubhouse for years to come, signaling his place amongst the elite of his sport. Morikawa’s trajectory in the PGA tour has been sci-fi rocket-style. As a sign of things to come following a stellar amateur career at UC-Berkeley, where he was ranked no. 1 on 3 different occasions, Morikawa won his 1st pro tournament (2019 Barracuda Championship) and proceeded to make 22 straight cuts to start his career for the second hottest start in tour history (25-Tiger). At age 23, and in only one season on the pro tour, Morikawa is among a select club of the youngest players to win a major, joining Jack Nickalus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McILroy.
This was Collin Morikawa’s PGA Championship debut and his 2nd major played. Morikawa vaulted in the rankings following his successful week at TPC Harding. now the World’s no. 5, he also ranks 2nd in the FedExCup standings.
A GLIMPS OF THE FUTURE: Don’t worry Collin…That’s just your unlimited potential popping off