MORIKAWA CAPS DREAM YEAR
Collin Morikawa capped off a sensational year with five birdies in his last seven holes to close with a 6-under 66 and win the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday, making him the first American to capture the Race to Dubai as the European Tour’s top player.
Winning two trophies in Dubai adds to a year in which the 24-year-old Californian won the British Open and holed the clinching putt in the Ryder Cup.
“It’s an honor to be the first American to do that, to put my name against many, many greats and Hall of Famers,” Morikawa said. “It’s special. I get touched up just talking about that.
“To close it out not just with a top 10 but to actually win what a great way to finish.”
Morikawa’s closing stretch allowed him to overtake a fading Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy, seeking back-toback titles after victory at the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour last month, started the final round with a one-stroke lead — three clear of Morikawa — and his game seemingly in its best shape for some time.
He was still in the lead, despite a stunning last-day charge from defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick, when a chip onto the green at the 15th hole hit the flagstick and the ball rebounded back into a bunker. That led to the first of three bogeys in his final four holes as McIlroy closed with a 74 and in a tie for sixth place.
Fitzpatrick (66) and Alexander Bjork (70) tied for second.
Ko takes top prize, award
Facing high stakes against her toughest opponent, Jin Young Ko delivered a performance that was close to perfect to win the richest prize in women’s golf and overtake Nelly Korda for LPGA player of the year.
Ko opened with a 25-foot birdie putt and never looked
back in the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla. She shot 30 on the front nine and closed with the low round of the tournament at 9-under 63 for a one-shot victory over Nasa Hataoka of Japan.
So flawless was Ko, who has been coping with a left wrist injury since May, that she hit the final 63 greens in regulation at Tiburon Golf Club.
This victory brought big spoils, beyond the $1.5 million to the winner. The 26-year-old South Korean had to win the tournament to claim the points-based LPGA player of the year, the second time in three years Ko has won the award.
Korda’s big year of becoming a major champion and Olympic gold medalist ended with a thud. The 23-year-old American closed with a 69 and tied for fifth, six shots behind.
Ko won the season finale for the second straight year, and this took all she had. She
started the final round in a four-way tie for the lead with Korda, Hataoka and Celine Boutier and quickly left everyone in her wake with four birdies on the opening six holes.
The winner finished at 23under 265 for her 12th career victory. She won five of the last nine tournaments she played on the LPGA Tour, and became the first five-time winner on the LPGA since 2016.
Gooch wins first PGA title
Talor Gooch was playing too well to get fazed by anything in the final round of the RSM Classic, and it paid off with his first PGA Tour title when he closed with a 6-under 64 for a three-shot victory at Sea Island in St. Simons Island, Ga.
He was playing with two guys who have won before. He was pushed early by a past Sea Island champion. The buzz in the middle of the round was another player flirting with 59.
Gooch ran off three birdies in four holes to start the back nine and never let anyone get close to cap off a strong fall with the ultimate prize. The victory moved him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings, to No. 33 in the world ranking and to Augusta National in April for the Masters.
Gooch tied the tournament record of 22-under 260 set by
Kevin Kisner in 2014. He became the seventh player in the 12-year history of the event to make the RSM Classic his first victory.
Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, who won the tournament in 2016, rallied from the group ahead of Gooch with four birdies among his last six holes, capped by a 20-foot putt at No. 18 for a 62 to finish second at 19under 263.
Sebastian Muñoz (65) was alone in third and Tyler McCumber (60), Cameron Smith (64), Tom Hoge (67) and Seamus Power (68) tied for fourth.