There’s been a good deal of evidence during the two years since he turned pro that Collin Morikawa is special.
Anyone who has any questions about Morikawa after his surgical victory in the British Open on Sunday at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England, is someone who’s never going to be satisfied.
Morikawa, the 24-year-old from Southern California and playing in only his eighth major championship, was as flawless as he was unflappable en route to winning the Claret Jug. He has the fearlessness of a 20-something, the guile of a 30-something and the old soul of a 40-something.
Morikawa, who won the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park in San Francisco, finished 15-under for the week, two shots ahead of Jordan Spieth and four shots clear of Louis Oosthuizen and Jon Rahm.
“I won the PGA, and then coming back as the defending champ you just have a sense of like you belong, this is going to be part of you for the rest of your life,’’ Morikawa said. “The Open Championship is going to be part of my life the rest of my life no matter what happens. To be a part of that history, it’s awesome. To hear ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ … chills.’’
The 265 stokes Morikawa took represented the lowest score in the 15 times the Open has been played at Royal St. George’s.
Morikawa came from behind to win the PGA by shooting a final-round 64. He began Sunday one shot behind Oosthuizen and shot a 4-under 66. He seized the lead from the 38-year-old South African on the seventh hole and never looked back, never lost the lead, never came close to losing his nerve.
Of the eight major championships Morikawa has played, he’s won two. That’s Tiger Woods territory in terms of winning percentage.
Since World War II, no one has won two majors in fewer starts. This was Morikawa’s 49th PGA Tour event as a professional and he already has five wins — also numbers that bring to mind Woods, who happened to be Morikawa’s idol growing up.
Morikawa won the PGA Championship the first time he played it. This was his first British Open, making him only the second player ever to win a PGA and a British Open before his 25th birthday, joining Woods. He became the first player in men’s golf history to win two major championships in his first try.
The accolades keep coming, and they’re certain to continuing. Morikawa is that good, that steady, that impressive.
“When you make history — I’m 24 years old — it’s hard to grasp, and it’s hard to really take it in,’’ Morikawa said. “At 24 years old, it’s so hard to look back at the two short years that I have been a pro and see what I’ve done because I want more.’’
Morikawa became the ninth player to win a British Open on his first attempt, the last being Ben Curtis in 2003 at Royal St. George’s
How steady and unflappable was he?
He didn’t three-putt a single green all week and he played the final 31 holes without a bogey, the third-longest streak without a bogey ever by a major championship winner. He finished with only four bogeys all week.
For Oosthuizen, Sunday was yet another chapter in the growing list of heartbreak in his career. He’s finished runner-up in six major championships, including the PGA and U.S. Open this year.
Oosthuizen never had it Sunday, his final round coming unglued on the that fateful par-5 seventh hole, where he skulled a greenside bunker shot across the green and into another bunker to a horrible lie. He would walk away with a bogey on the hole while Morikawa birdied.
The two-shot swing gave Morikawa the lead he would quickly increase to three shots when he birdied the eighth hole to take a three-shot advantage. He would never look back.
Spieth’s chances actually took the biggest hit on Saturday when he bogeyed the final two holes of his third round from the middle of the fairway, lowlighted by a missed 18-inch par putt on the 18th hole.
Morikawa was in college at Cal-Berkeley 26 months ago. Now he has five victories in his two years since turning pro, a run that includes two majors and a World Golf Championship. The win moved him to No. 3 in the world.
His caddie, J.J. Jakovac, summed his man up best when he said, “His physical talents are off the chart, but mentally he’s an old soul, he’s very grown up for his age. It seems like he’s been there before even though he hasn’t.’’
Best bet in golf right now: Morikawa will be there again.
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July 19, 2021 at 12:34AM
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Collin Morikawa wins British Open on his first try - New York Post
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