SANDWICH, England. – When Collin Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship in his home state of California, pandemic restrictions meant that no spectators were in attendance to celebrate with him.
More than 5,000 miles away, to bookend a stretch of seven majors in 12 months, Morikawa received his due from British fans at the Open Championship as they lauded the emergent American star.
Morikawa’s final-round 66 Sunday wrapped up a 15-under 265 at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England, lifting him past South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen for his second major title.
Morikawa, 24, became the first player in golf history to win his debuts at two different majors and the first player since Bobby Jones in the 1920s to win two majors in eight starts or fewer. As he accepted the Claret Jug, Morikawa called it one of the best moments of his life.
“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 later told reporters. “I enjoy these moments and I love it, and I want to teach myself to embrace it a little more, maybe spend a few extra days and sit back and drink out of this (the Jug).”
Jordan Spieth shot 66 to finish second at 13 under. Oosthuizen (71) and US Open champion Jon Rahm of Spain (66) tied for third at 11 under. South African Dylan Frittelli carded a 68 to take fifth at 9 under, and Brooks Koepka soared up the leaderboard with a 65 to finish T6 at 8 under with Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes (69).
Oosthuizen led the Open after each of the first three rounds yet failed to convert a major opportunity once again. Earlier this year, he was a 54-hole co-leader at the US Open and finished second after he also took runner-up at the PGA Championship.
Playing in the final pairing, Morikawa opened with six straight pars while Oosthuizen gave a shot back on No. 4 to create a tie for the lead at 11 under. Everything pivoted at No. 7, a reachable par-5 hole where Oosthuizen came undone.
Oosthuizen skulled his third shot out of a greenside bunker, over the green and into a different bunker. His recovery from there wasn’t much better, landing on the green but too far from the hole to have any hope for par. Morikawa, meanwhile, landed a chip shot right next to the hole for a tap-in birdie and a two-shot swing.
That propelled Morikawa forward. He hit a perfect approach at the eighth to set up a birdie, dunked a long birdie putt at No. 9 and saved a mid-range, downhill par putt at No. 10. The run took him to 14 under and established a three-shot lead over Spieth at the time, while Oosthuizen remained stalled at 10 under.
“The seventh hole was definitely the turning point,” Morikawa said. “I was hitting good shots to give myself chances for birdie. But to get a good break off the drive, I thought I pulled it left, hit it up short, was about to putt it, hit it to tap-in range. At that point, I kind of got the round started. — Field Level Media
