Unfazed Morikawa shows he’s now part of golf elite
With so many elements left to chance at the unpredictable links of Royal St George’s, Collin Morikawa found one thing he could rely on this week at the Open Championship: Himself.
The 24-year-old Californian travelled overseas with no links land experience, and will return to America with the Claret Jug, a second major championship win, and a reputation as an unflappable closer. Beginning Sunday at 11-under-par, and one stroke back of playing partner Louis Oosthuizen, Morikawa stormed into the lead with three consecutive birdies beginning at the par5 seventh hole. On the back nine, the young star reached 15-under-par and held off a charging Jordan Spieth to win the final men’s major of the year by two strokes.
On a day when the rest of the leaders stumbled out of the gate, Morikawa shot a bogey-free four-under 66, and never allowed the magnitude of the moment to get to him. In fact, he played the final 31 holes of the championship without dropping a shot.
“I’m glad I look calm because the nerves are definitely up there,” Morikawa said. “But you channel these nerves into excitement and energy, and that puts you away from a fear factor into this is something I want.”
After winning the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park without fans or the usual intensity of a major championship atmosphere, there were some unavoidably unanswered questions about the incredible poise the star seemed to possess. On Sunday, playing in his first Open Championship, Morikawa answered them all by acing his final exam in front of 32,000 of golf’s most astute proctors. For his part, Morikawa never had a doubt.
“No, I had nothing to prove,” he said. “I had nothing to prove to myself today. I knew. I’ve been able to do it. I’ve closed out tournaments before.”
Morikawa is the first player to win in his PGA Championship and Open Championship debuts. He also becomes the first player since Tiger Woods — and second all-time — to win those two championships before turning 25.
“I think when you make history — and I’m 24 years old — it’s hard to grasp, and it’s hard to really take it in,” Morikawa said. “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.”
O CANADA
Two Canadians began Sunday with eyes on winning the Claret Jug, but it wasn’t to be.
The hopes of both Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes took a major hit right out of the gate when both soon-to-be Olympians bogeyed the first two holes of their rounds, and spent the rest of the day trying to play catch-up.
“The start was definitely disappointing,” Hughes said. “Yeah, I mean, you couldn’t have too much of a worse start . ... I would be lying if I didn’t say I felt a bit more nerves today than yesterday.”
In the end, Dundas, Ont.’s Hughes made five birdies on the day, against four bogeys, and finished top Canadian of the week, shooting a final round one-under-par 69 to finish his first Open Championship at eight-under and tied with Brooks Koepka (65) for sixth place.
“I felt like I was kind of born to play links golf,” Hughes said after his round. “It makes you really think, and that’s something I’m very good at, which can help and hurt me. I feel like over here the solid play and hitting the different golf shots, it’s all just kind of feel and, yeah, just manufacturing shots. So I really loved it. Obviously, I would’ve loved to play a little better the last couple days, but all in all I was pretty pleased with the efforts.”
Conners played in the second-to-last group with Spieth, and seemed to shake off his bogey-bogey start when he birdied the par-3 sixth and eagled the par5 seventh hole, but that’s where the highlights ended for the 29-year-old. Conners bogeyed four of his final 11 holes to shoot a three-over 73 and finish the week at five-under in a tie for 15th.
“There was definitely some nerves out there,” Conners said. “I wasn’t able to get the putts to fall in to kind of get some positive momentum and settle me down a bit, but I just tried to plug away and be patient. It was definitely more of a battle than I’d hoped for, but it was a good learning experience.”
This ends a major championship season that saw Conners in the mix at the Masters, PGA Championship, and Open Championship; and Hughes play in the final group at the U.S. Open.
The pair will have a few days to recharge at home before heading to Tokyo to compete in the Olympics. Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp will represent Canada in the women’s tournament.