Berger stays steady as others falter
FORT WORTH, Texas – With big names like Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas squeezed near the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday, most assumed experience would be the deciding factor at Colonial Country Club.
Instead, McIlroy went through a meltdown on the front nine with a 41. Spieth spent the afternoon on a rollercoaster ride and shot 71 while others slowly slipped away or were too far back to make a move.
In the end, Daniel Berger outlasted Collin Morikawa in a playoff, earning his third PGA Tour title in golf’s first event since the coronavirus pandemic took hold. There were no fans but also no obvious issues.
Berger buried a huge putt on No. 18 but had to wait for others to falter before getting into a playoff.
He watched as 23-year-old Collin Morikawa missed a 7-footer for birdie on No. 18 to also finish at 15-under. Xander Schauffele, who held the lead most of the day, endured a wild stretch on his final few holes to finish at 14-under.
In the first playoff hole, Berger missed the green, as did Morikawa. Both had makeable putts, but after Berger sunk his, Morikawa’s lipped out, giving Berger the title.
Berger, whose previous two wins came in Memphis, shot a 66 on Sunday, but it was a quiet one — he made the turn at 33 and had just one birdie on the back nine before dropping his 10-foot putt on No. 18.
Berger has posted 28 consecutive rounds of par or better, a streak he’s happy hadn’t come to light until now.
“I’m glad no one talks about it, because it’s definitely harder to go out there and win when you’re worried about it,” he said. “There was so many times today where I could have given it up or let the pressure get to me, but I hung in there, and I played practically some of the best golf I’ve played the last six years the last five holes today.”
Although he’s been playing well,
Berger admitted a playoff was daunting, especially in light of his previous opportunities — losses at the 2015 Honda Classic (to Padraig Harrington) and 2017 Travelers Championship (to Spieth).
“I mean, you just never really know if you’re going to be in the same position again, so to be able to come out here and beat so many of the best players in the world, you look at the field that was out here this week, and I don’t have a stellar playoff record,” Berger said. “Obviously, I didn’t want to win it like that, but sometimes that’s just the way golf works.”
The casual fan might not know much about Morikawa, but those in the golf world have been whispering about how the former Cal star is quickly becoming the best iron striker on Tour. Morikawa has started his Tour career by making his first 21 cuts. The only player with a higher number in the last three decades? Tiger Woods with 25.
A 49-foot putt on the 14th hole gave him an edge coming down the stretch, but he missed the putt on No. 18 that would have given him the victory.
“I hit a really good putt on 18,” Morikawa said. “Yeah, I’m going to have my head down after that because it was a putt pretty much to win it, but everything from there on was a good putt. So as long as I’m starting it on line, I’m confident.”