By Stephen Langsam
The weather held and the skies parted as former California Golde Bear and California Native Collin Morikawa made his way off from a bogey at 17th, tied with Min Woo Lee for the lead with one hole to go. Lee shot a 65 on Sunday, the same as he shot on Friday in part to his -21 tournament finish.
Morikawa made his way to the tee box and put his drive 290 yards out next to one of the most iconic trees in golf, a little more than half way to the green and in the middle of the fairway at 18. Looking at a solid strike to the green for eagle and the victory over Lee. But a delay in rulings and playing by Jacob Bridgeman in the group prior to Morikawa and co. going for the green delayed his attempt for his first win at Pebble Beach for around 29 mins.
“It was different, walking left and right, instead of straight down the fairway. I was just trying to think about anything else other than golf …and it was the nicest backdrop you could ask for,” said Morikawa. “I just kept asking myself, how do I stay loose? How do I stay warm? I know what shot I needed to execute and selfishly I was hoping Jacob (Bridgeman) would finish earlier, the wind was down. I had the perfect shot for me. So just like playing at Kapalua, when you wait, just stare out in the ocean.”
When Morikawa finally was able to hit his second shot from the fairway, he put in on the edge of the green, just under 27 feet from the hole. He made a solid putt to within 16 inches. The putter Morikawa joked he stole from Kurt Kityama after playing alongside Kurt, his brother and Lee last week in a practice round before the Waste Management in Phoenix. Morikawa held onto the putter and is very glad he did. Morikawa made the putt, and secured his first victory in over two years, when he won the Zozo Championship in October of 2023, and his first on the PGA Tour since his Open Championship win in July of 2021 at Royal St. George.
“It’s great to win at an iconic venue (Pebble Beach), it’s one of the places, like the majors you want to win,” said Morikawa. “Watching the guys hoist the trophy at 18, this being my second second start here since the US Open in 2019, I wanted to be one of those guys.”
Sepp Straka who was in the final grouping along with Akshay Bhatia and Morikawa, capped off his -4 Sunday round with birdies on 16 and 17 followed up with an eagle on 18 to finish tied for second with Lee at -21. This was Lee’s third runner up on the PGA Tour, his first since 2024 and Straka’s fifth, first since his tied runner up finish at the 2023 Open Championship. Bhatia who was the leader heading into Sunday, finished at even par on the day and -19 for the tournament dropping into a tie for 6th with Sam Burns.
Scottie Scheffler made a run for the win on Sunday, starting out the day going seven under through the first seven holes before he hit some turbulence with a bogey on eight to finish the front nine at six under. The back nine started great with back to back birdies, but was a little bumpier for the worlds number one golfer with two bogeys on 12 and 15, but he capped off the round with an eagle for a 63 on the day and -20 for the tournament and at one point leading the field in the clubhouse. He and Tommy Fleetwood who shot a 66 with four birdies in the final six holes finished tied for forth.
“I was very aware of Scottie Scheffler’s score today,” said Morikawa. “It’s cool to go head to head with this guy.”
There was some drama with Jack Knapp, Hideki Matsuyama and Bridgeman the group prior to Morikawa closing on 18. Knapp made an eagle to pull within three strokes. Matsuyama tied him with a birdie. But it was Bridgeman, who sent one into the pebble beach after hitting beyond the TV stands past the 18th green. As he attempted to get on the green, he flew one into the ocean. Bridgeman then went back into the fairway to hit his fifth shot. It was a gem, within 6 feet of the pin. He avoided disaster with a bogey putt to finish the tournament at -18, and tied for 8th along side his grouping of Knapp and Matsuyama.
Last years champion Rory McIlroy shot eight under to finish five back of the lead Sunday, finishing the tournament tied for 14th after starting the day 10 shots back of Bhatia at -9.
Course record holder and 2024 Champion Wyndham Clark finished tied for 58th with Viktor Hovland after both shot even par on Sunday to a tournament finish -6.
The TOUR moves south next week as the PGA and Genesis Invitational returns to Riviera Country Club after a one year hiatus due to the fires in Malibu. This is second consecutive week with a signature event, and a signature pot on the line. Morikawa is looking for more with his new found confidence, maybe even a win this week.
“After this win, it’s going to give me a lot of confidence heading into the majors … I’d love to win Riviera this week, it’s one of my favorite courses,” said Morikawa.
The field takes to Riviera on Thursday.
For more information on the PGA TOUR or for tickets coming up events visit www.pgatour.com.
