Collin Morikawa shot a final-round 66 and then beat Justin Thomas on the third playoff hole to claim victory at the Workday Charity Open.
Morikawa entered Sunday’s finale at Muirfield Village three shots back of the world No. 5 Thomas, and after 15 final-round holes, his deficit was the same three shots.
Thomas, though, got cold at the worst possible time, closing his final three holes bogey-par-bogey, while Morikawa carded par-birdie-par – and just like that the two were headed to a playoff.
Thomas looked to be the winner when his 50-foot bomb for birdie found the center of the cup on the first overtime hole. But Morikawa, who lost a playoff at Colonial last month to Daniel Berger, made his own lengthy birdie putt to halve the hole.
After another draw on their second go-round at No. 18, the two headed to the 10th hole, where Thomas essentially ended his chances when his wayward tee ball landed directly behind a stand-alone tree, just to the right of the first cut.
Thomas would go on to sign for a bogey-5, while Morikawa tapped in for a par to claim the title.
With the win, Morikawa earned $1,116,000 and 500 FedExCup points to move to No. 21 on the PGA Tour’s points list. He also picked up 62 Official World Golf Ranking points and will jump into the top 20 (from 29th). He is expected to land at No. 15 on Sunday evening.
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Pro-File
Name: Collin Morikawa
Nationality: American
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight: 160 lb
Birthdate: Feb, 6, 1997 (age 23)
Native: Los Angeles, Calif.
Resides: Las Vegas, Nevada
College: U Cal, Berkeley
Equipment: TaylorMade
Final Scores: Top 5
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Collin Morikawa -19 (-6)
2. Justin Thomas -19 (-3)
3. Viktor Hovland -15 (-1)
4. Chase Seiffert -14 (-5)
4. Gary Woodland -12 (-3)
5. Ian Poulter -12 (-2)
Top-3 Check Cashers
- Morikawa – $1,116,000
- Thomas – $675,800
- Hovland – $427,800
Morikawa’s 2020 PGA Tour Season
Starts: 15
Cuts Made: 14
Wins: 1 (Workday Open)
Additional Top 10: 4
Earnings: $1,918,049 (25)
FedExCup Pts: 747 (21)
World Rank Before/After: 29/13
Morikawa’s Winning Numbers
Top-line Stats
Driving: 297.6 (19th)
Fairways: 71.43%, 40/56 (19th)
Greens: 73.61%, 53/72 (6th)
Putts/Per GIR: 84/1.585 (1st)
Scores: 2 Eagles, 24 Birdies, 37 Pars, 9 Bogeys
Strokes Gained
Off the Tee: 3.532 (6th)
Approach the Green: 9.211 (3rd)
Tee to Green: 12.807 (3rd)
Putting: 4.729 (13th)
Total: 17.535 (1st)
WITB: Collin Morikawa
Driver: Taylormade SIM (8°)
Fairway: Taylormade SIM (15°)
Utility: TaylorMade P790 UDI (2)
Low Irons: TaylorMade P750 (4-5)
High Irons: TaylorMade P7TW (6-PW)
Gap Wedge: TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 (52°)
Sand Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM8 (56˚)
Lob Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM8 (60˚)
Putter: TaylorMade TP Collection Soto
Ball: TaylorMade TP5X
Hat: Taylormade
Shoes: Adidas Tour 360
Money & Points
With his win, Morikawa earned $1,116,000 and 500 FedExCup points. He will move to No. 21 in the points standings and 25th on the money list.
Morikawa also received 62 OWGR points to crack the top-20 (No. 15) in the world rankings.
Quotable
“Throughout the playoff I got a lot more comfortable, especially after that playoff at Colonial, I felt a lot more comfortable now, but I felt WAY more comfortable after making that birdie putt on the first playoff hole. I mean, it was huge; I had to make it after he made it. And from there on, I knew: hit fairways, hit greens, put the pressure on him; he obviously had a chance on that second hole playoff, but I’m happy.”
– Collin Morikawa
Credits: Getty Images, PGA Tour Media
