Morikawa Wins In Duels Against Thomas In A Playoff At Workday Charity Open.
DUBLIN, Ohio- Collin Morikawa figured his event was over if he didn’t make a five-foot par putt at the fifteenth hole at Muirfield Village. He couldn’t have imagined all the laugh was just starting. The 3 instances he performed the 18th hollow, he twice may want to handiest watch as Thomas had 10-foot putts for the win.
The other time, Morikawa needed to make a 25-foot putt to preserve playing.
The simplest dull moment Sunday on the Workday Charity Open turned into the end, whilst Morikawa took putts for par from just inner 10 feet to beat Thomas on the 0.33 playoff hollow and win for the second one time in his career. “Amazing,” Morikawa stated while requested how he could sum up the day to someone who only saw the result. That covered quite a few territories.
Morikawa in no way looked just like the winner until it becomes over.
Thomas had 10 directly one-putt greens, the closing one a 25-foot eagle putt at the par-5 fifteenth for the three-shot lead with 3 holes to play. And even as he made bogeys for a sixty-nine that allowed Morikawa to force a playoff, he had cause to assume it was over when he made a 50-foot birdie putt from the back of the 18th inexperienced on the primary playoff hole. “I by no means assumed it became over,” Thomas said. “Percentages would say that it closely is close to being that way. … I simply tried to hold my head down and assume he’s going to make it, however hoping he’s not, selfishly, but he did.”
It was a wild trip for Thomas, too. He started out with a -shot lead, trailed by way of three after simply 5 holes, made 4 immediately birdies and was in advance via three shots 10 holes later, and ultimately misplaced in a playoff. They go back in four days for the Memorial on a Muirfield Village course expected to be as speedy as a U.S. Open. This turned into a huge win for the 23-year-antique Morikawa, who in his 13 months for the reason that graduating from Cal already has set up recognition for a high stage of consistency. His most effective victory turned into at an opposite-area occasion closing summer. He beat an area at the Workday Charity Open that featured 5 of the pinnacle 10 within the world.
“This is a massive type of stepping stone,” stated Morikawa, who is going to No. thirteen inside the world, one spot beforehand. We were given No. 2. Let the gates simply open and let’s keep going.” It changed into his 2nd playoff since the PGA Tour returned June eleven from the COVID-19 pandemic. Morikawa losses on the first extra hole at Colonial via missed a 3-foot putt. He had a 2-foot putt in on Sunday that stuck the left fringe of the cup and swirled in. “My heartbeat has to have skipped a billion instances,” he stated.
The most effective factor missing changed into a handshake from Jack Nicklaus. He’ll be there a subsequent week for the Memorial, as the PGA Tour stays at Muirfield Village. Viktor Hovland of Norway had a seventy-one and finished alone in 0.33. He was inside the final institution of three younger stars, all of whom had the lead through the very last spherical. Hovland’s hopes ended with photographs – locating a bunker from the tenth fairway for bogey, and a driver at the accessible 14 that only missed by about 5 feet however slowly tumbled down the financial institution toes from the pin. He narrowly overlooked the eagle putt, whilst Thomas hit an extremely good wedge with aspect spin to 3 ft for birdie to live one beforehand.
That’s whilst it regarded the event grew to become in Thomas’ favour. Morikawa was in the thick hard right of the fairway at the par-5 15th, uncertain he may want to get over the slope to the next segment of the fairway. one hundred ninety yards away. Morikawa went via a bunker to the steep slope by the green and did properly to cut that chip high within the air to 5 feet. Thomas made his eagle putt. Morikawa made his par to live alive.
“A 3-shot cushion with three to go is lots one-of-a-kind than 4 with three to go,” Morikawa said. “And then him hitting extremely of a bad tee shot on 16, I knew this changed into my window of opportunity.” So the very last spherical become broadcast on a delay, to be had live best on streaming. With no fans at the course, it changed into the wildest finish that hardly everybody noticed