Morikawa secures 2nd title in playoff

Collin Morikawa never looked like a winner at the Workday Charity Open until he tapped in for par on the third playoff hole, capping off a wild finish Sunday at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

Morikawa trailed Justin Thomas by three shots with three holes to play and managed to get into a playoff with a 6under 66. Then, after watching Thomas hole a 50-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, he had to make a 25-footer just to stay alive. He could only watch as Thomas had a 10-footer to win on the 18th on the second playoff hole.

It ended on No. 10 when Thomas had to lay up from behind a tree and made bogey, and Morikawa took two putts from just inside 10 feet for his second career victory, and first against a strong PGA Tour field.

“It was crazy,” Morikawa said.

It was a shocker for Thomas, too. He lost a two-shot lead at the start in three holes. He ran off four straight birdies and had 10 consecutive one-putts to build a three-shot lead through 15 holes.

Thomas didn’t do anything terribly wrong — a tee shot in the thick collar on the par-3 16th that led to bogey, a 12-foot birdie attempt on the 17th that narrowly missed and a tee shot that found a bunker on the 18th and led to another bogey and a 69. They finished at 19-under 269.

Thomas looked like the winner when his 50-foot birdie putt found the center of the cup on the 18th. Morikawa, who lost a playoff at Colonial last month by missing a 3-foot putt, wouldn’t let this one go.

It was his debut at Muirfield Village, and this victory didn’t end with a handshake from Jack Nicklaus. That’s for next week at the Memorial.

Viktor Hovland of Norway had a 71 and finished third. He was in the final group of three young stars, all of whom had the lead at some point during the final round.

DARRON CUMMINGS/AP