Morikawa clutch in finish and playoff
DUBLIN, OHIO » 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.
Morikawa trailed Justin Thomas by three shots with three holes to play and managed to get into a playoff with a 6-under 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 finally 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 oneputts 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 alone in third. He was in the final group of three young stars, all of whom had the lead at some point during the final round.
Hovland’s hopes ended with two shots — finding a bunker from the 10th fairway for bogey, and a driver on the reachable 14 that only missed by about 5 feet, enough to slowly tumble down the bank and into the water.
Morikawa also hit driver on the 14th that rolled 12 feet away. He narrowly missed the eagle putt, and then his chances appeared to vanish on the next hole.
He was in thick rough right of the fairway on the par-5 15th, unsure he could get over the slope to the next section of fairway. It came out heavy, just through the fairway into light rough 190 yards away. By then, Thomas was already on the green in two. Morikawa went through a bunker to the steep slope by the green, and did well to get up-and-down for par.
Still, he was three down with three to play. Thomas missed a 10-foot par putt on the 16th. Morikawa holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th. And then Thomas, who couldn’t reach the 18th green from a fairway bunker, missed a 10-foot par putt for the win in regulation.