The long-awaited first major golf tournament of a season kicked off by the coronavirus pandemic delivered an upstart winner on Sunday. Collin Morikawa, a 23-year-old Californian who plays his second lead role, won the 102nd PGA Championship at a spectator-free TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
Morikawa, who turned pro last summer, shot a six-under-par 64 on Sunday to finish at 13 down for the win, his first in a major and third over all in his short time on the PGA Tour. Since the tournament in 1958 became a stroke-play event, only two winners of a PGA Championship have been younger: Jack Nicklaus in 1963 and Rory McIlroy in 2012.
Morikawa went two shots in the final round of the lead, which was held by Dustin Johnson, who finished second with Paul Casey, at 11 under for the tournament.
The tournament at Harding, an unpretentious municipal course on the misty southwestern edge of the city, was intended to hold the traditional opening major for the men’s ride in early May, four weeks after the Masters. The Masters are now scheduled for mid-November at Augusta National, and the United States Open at Winged Foot has been moved from June to mid-September. The British Open, the only male major outside the United States, was canceled for the first time since World War II.
It’s great, ”said Morikawa, who played college golf about 21 miles away in California, after receiving the Wanamaker Trophy on the 18th green.
“To rule it out in San Francisco,” he added, “that’s about my second home, where I spent the last four years, is pretty special.”
Morikawa broke out of a tangled pack on the back nine, which at one point contained a sand directional belt at 10 below.
The mass applications included a mix of veterans like Casey, 43, and Johnson, 36, and an explosion of the sport’s new wave. Matthew Wolff, 21, placed a 65 in the final round, and Scottie Scheffler, 24, was in the hunt until the end. They finished fourth.
Surprisingly, the two-time defending PGA Champion, Brooks Koepka, who made confidential proclamations on Saturday night, tumbled off the Leaderboard with a four-over 74 Sunday.
It was the time of Morikawa.
At first, however, there was controversy.
His approach on par-4 No. 14, off the fairway, came a disappointing 15-yard short. It was then that Morikawa displayed the singing froid and the soft hands that characterized the brilliant beginning of his career.
He coolly hung a clean chip from the fairway that rolled into the bag for a bird.
A nearby pack of volunteers cheered, apparently feeling compelled to puncture the silence for such a moment.
Morikawa had the lead.
The drivable par-4 no. 16, which presented a strategic challenge, emerged in the mist as the possible tipping point for the packed leaderboard. A handful of eagles by players earlier in the day loaded the hole with portents, and Casey made a birdie there to tie Morikawa up at 11 under.
It all put Morikawa’s swing on the 16th tea box. He saw the line and remembered a similar drive he struck at Muirfield Village in Ohio in his win at the Workday Charity Open last month.
“It suits my eye,” he said.
He released the driver on an aggressive line. There would be no layup.
Morikawa’s fat tone cut slightly towards the goal, removing a dangerous pack of cypress trees that protected the green and landing softly, rolling up to seven feet away until a stop. The shot immediately had the gleam of legend.
“We were hoping for a good bounce, and we got one,” Morikawa said.
Practicing on the range in case of a playoff could only surprise Casey.
“What a shot he hit at 16,” said Casey, who shot a 66-yard touchdown finish. “Great golf. There’s nothing you can do unless you flip your cap. Collin accepted the challenge. That’s what champions do.”
To complete the script, Morikawa quietly rolled into the eyeball for a two-stroke lead. Press on no. 17 and 18 close the deal.
A smiling Morikawa walked through a sail line of tournament volunteers cheering on the new champion.
