Collin Morikawa Stuns the Golf World with PGA Championship Win

By
Steve Sweitzer
-
0
1761
TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, CA — August 9, 2020

As was the case all weekend at the PGA Championship, the lead was too much of a burden to carry. Every day of the tournament at the TPC Harding Park featured a new name at the top of the leaderboard.

Saturday’s leader, Dustin Johnson went birdie, par, bogey, birdie on his first four holes to get to 10 under. But, nine consecutive pars let the field catch up. A bogey on 14 dropped him back to 9 under where he started. Birdies on 16 & 18 to moved hi to -11, it was not enough.

Paul Casey made a run, carding five birdies on the day. A missed green at 13 cost him a stroke when he chipped 20 feet past the hole and two-putted for a bogey. He tied Johnson at 11 under.

Under Achievers

Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Champ started the day a stroke behind Johnson. They squandered the opportunity. Scheffler scored three birdies, the 13 was costly for him as well. Short of the green, he chipped to 13 feet of the cup. Two putts resulted in the bogey that left him at 10 under for the tournament.

Champ started to make a move with birdies on the 4th & 6th holes. A double-bogey on 9 dropped Champ back to where he started the day. Exchanging two birdies with two bogeys on the back 9 cost him a shot at his first major.

An Unexpected Name Tops the Leaderboard 

A leaderboard crowded with recognizable names did not intimidate a 23-year playing in his first PGA Championship. Collin Morikawa shot a 5 under par 65 Saturday to move into a tie for 4th at -7 with two of those names, Paul Casey and Brooks Koepka.

Birdies on 3 & 4 started his round off in the right direction. Another birdie on the 10th hole took Morikawa into a tie for the lead at 10 under. The number no one could seem to surpass. Lightning struck on the 14th when Morikawa missed the green short and to the right. With the pin position at the left front, it was not a difficult chip.

Finally, someone broke through. Morikawa’s chip-in put him in sole possession of the lead at -11. He did not squander the opportunity. After Casey joined him at 11 under, Morikawa stood on the 16th tee with a driver in hand. The par 4 was only 294 yards, but it held a host of trouble around the green. A mistake here could easily derail a championship round.

After the perfect drive rolled to a stop seven feet from the hole, an easy two-putt birdie would again give Morikawa sole possession of the lead. He stepped up and sank the eagle putt to put a stranglehold on the Wanamaker Trophy.

With a two-stroke lead, the rest of the leaderboard surrendered. Morikawa became the 3rd youngest winner of the PGA Championship. He joins an illustrious group as the 4th golfer to capture the trophy at the age of 23,  starting with Jack Nicklaus in 1963. Tiger Woods accomplished the feat in 1999 and Rory McIlroy joined in 2012.

Morikawa only mistake of the day, he knocked the lid off the Wanamaker Trophy while posing for photos.

Morikawa with the Wanamaker Trophy. Photo Courtesy of the PGA

What Could Have Been

Matthew Wolff started the day tied for 13th at 5 under, a bogey on the 5th hole had him heading in the wrong direction. He closed his opening nine with three straight birdies that moved him to 7 under. An eagle on the 10 put him in contention at 9 under. A bogey at 14 unhinged Wolff’s surge, finishing with birdies at 16 & 18 he tied for 4th at -10.

Jason Day shot a bogey-free 66, it was his lackluster 70 on Saturday that cost him dearly. He joined the group of five golfers that tied for 4th. After four birdies on the front nine took Bryson DeChambeau into a tie for the lead at -10, bogeys on 8 & 9 eliminated his chance. He crawled back to 10 under with two birdies on the back nine. No doubt, DeChambeau feels he could have been in the mix for the championship at the end.

An even-par 70 on Friday cost Tony Finau his chance at the title. Rounds of 67 and 66 brought him into the group at 10 under on the final day.

Tiger watchers. A personal best round of 67 for the tournament weekend brought Tiger to -1 and a tie for 37th.

Results of the 2020 PGA Championship

Position Player To Par Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Total Earnings
1 Collin Morikawa -13 69 69 65 64 267 $1,980,000
T2 Paul Casey -11 68 67 68 66 269 $968,000
T2 Dustin Johnson -11 69 67 65 68 269 $968,000
T4 Matthew Wolff -10 69 68 68 65 270 $404,350
T4 Jason Day -10 65 69 70 66 270 $404,350
T4 Tony Finau -10 67 70 67 66 270 $404,350
T4 Bryson DeChambeau -10 68 70 66 66 270 $404,350
T4 Scottie Scheffler -10 66 71 65 68 270 $404,350
9 Justin Rose -9 66 68 70 67 271 $295,600
T10 Xander Schauffele -8 66 70 69 67 272 $252,123
T10 Joel Dahmen -8 69 68 68 67 272 $252,123
T10 Cameron Champ -8 71 64 67 70 272 $252,123
T13 Patrick Reed -7 68 70 69 66 273 $192,208
T13 Jon Rahm -7 70 69 68 66 273 $192,208
T13 Si Woo Kim -7 69 68 68 68 273 $192,208
T13 Daniel Berger -7 67 67 70 69 273 $192,208
T17 Brendon Todd -6 65 70 72 67 274 $156,500
T17 Haotong Li -6 67 65 73 69 274 $156,500
T19 Harris English -5 69 71 69 66 275 $134,000
T19 Kevin Kisner -5 67 73 68 67 275 $134,000
T19 Lanto Griffin -5 68 68 71 68 275 $134,000
T22 Byeong-Hun An -4 72 69 71 64 276 $94,571
T22 Alexander Noren -4 67 69 73 67 276 $94,571
T22 Brendan Steele -4 66 71 72 67 276 $94,571
T22 Adam Scott -4 68 70 70 68 276 $94,571
T22 Victor Perez -4 70 69 69 68 276 $94,571
T22 Ian Poulter -4 73 68 66 69 276 $94,571
T22 Hideki Matsuyama -4 70 67 69 70 276 $94,571
T29 Doc Redman -3 73 67 70 67 277 $69,500
T29 Harold Varner III -3 72 66 69 70 277 $69,500
T29 Tommy Fleetwood -3 70 64 70 73 277 $69,500
T29 Brooks Koepka -3 66 68 69 74 277 $69,500
T33 Viktor Hovland -2 68 71 73 66 278 $57,500
T33 Louis Oosthuizen -2 70 71 70 67 278 $57,500
T33 Rory McIlroy -2 70 69 71 68 278 $57,500
T33 Dylan Frittelli -2 70 67 70 71 278 $57,500
T37 Tiger Woods -1 68 72 72 67 279 $45,000
T37 Russell Henley -1 71 69 71 68 279 $45,000
T37 Bud Cauley -1 66 71 73 69 279 $45,000
T37 Nate Lashley -1 69 70 70 70 279 $45,000
T37 Justin Thomas -1 71 70 68 70 279 $45,000
T37 Webb Simpson -1 71 68 68 72 279 $45,000
T43 Ryan Palmer E 74 66 76 64 280 $31,594
T43 Abraham Ancer E 69 70 72 69 280 $31,594
T43 Billy Horschel E 69 71 71 69 280 $31,594
T43 Cameron Smith E 71 69 70 70 280 $31,594
T43 Keith Mitchell E 68 72 68 72 280 $31,594
T43 Patrick Cantlay E 73 68 66 73 280 $31,594
T43 Bernd Wiesberger E 68 68 70 74 280 $31,594
T43 Mike Lorenzo-Vera E 66 68 72 74 280 $31,594
T51 Erik van Rooyen 1 71 70 74 66 281 $24,000
T51 Adam Long 1 73 68 72 68 281 $24,000
T51 Joost Luiten 1 71 68 73 69 281 $24,000
T51 Luke List 1 72 69 70 70 281 $24,000
T51 Mark Hubbard 1 70 71 70 70 281 $24,000
T51 Brandt Snedeker 1 72 66 72 71 281 $24,000
T51 Kurt Kitayama 1 68 72 70 71 281 $24,000
T58 Kevin Streelman 2 69 70 73 70 282 $21,338
T58 Gary Woodland 2 67 72 73 70 282 $21,338
T58 Tom Hoge 2 72 68 72 70 282 $21,338
T58 Brian Harman 2 68 71 71 72 282 $21,338
T58 Mackenzie Hughes 2 73 68 69 72 282 $21,338
T58 Adam Hadwin 2 68 71 70 73 282 $21,338
T58 Denny McCarthy 2 70 69 70 73 282 $21,338
T58 Charl Schwartzel 2 73 68 68 73 282 $21,338
T66 Robert MacIntyre 3 73 67 74 69 283 $20,000
T66 Rory Sabbatini 3 71 70 72 70 283 $20,000
T66 Sepp Straka 3 70 71 71 71 283 $20,000
T66 Emiliano Grillo 3 70 70 70 73 283 $20,000
T66 Shane Lowry 3 68 72 69 74 283 $20,000
T71 Jordan Spieth 4 73 68 76 67 284 $19,350
T71 Danny Lee 4 69 71 74 70 284 $19,350
T71 Bubba Watson 4 70 71 73 70 284 $19,350
T71 Phil Mickelson 4 72 69 70 73 284 $19,350
T75 Chez Reavie 6 71 70 75 70 286 $19,050
T75 J.T. Poston 6 67 74 75 70 286 $19,050
T77 Matt Wallace 7 71 70 74 72 287 $18,850
T77 Jim Herman 7 71 69 72 75 287 $18,850
79 Sung Kang 10 70 71 76 73 290 $18,700

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR