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Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa
Morikawa in 2021
Personal information
Born (1997-02-06) February 6, 1997 (age 27)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight160 lb (73 kg)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.[1]
Spouse
Katherine Zhu
(m. 2022)
Career
CollegeUniversity of California, Berkeley
Turned professional2019
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Professional wins7
Highest ranking2 (October 24, 2021)[2]
(as of November 24, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour6
European Tour4
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters TournamentT3: 2024
PGA ChampionshipWon: 2020
U.S. OpenT4: 2021
The Open ChampionshipWon: 2021
Achievements and awards
European Tour
Race to Dubai winner
2021

Collin Morikawa (born February 6, 1997) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He began his PGA Tour career with 22 consecutive made cuts, second only to Tiger Woods' 25-cut streak.[3] Morikawa has six PGA Tour wins – including two major championships, the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship, winning both in his debut. In May 2018, Morikawa spent three weeks as the top-ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.[4][5] He also became the first American to win the Race to Dubai on the European Tour.

Amateur career

Morikawa played collegiate golf at the University of California, Berkeley, from 2015 to 2019, winning five times, including the 2019 Pac-12 Conference Championship.[6][7] Aside from his collegiate wins, he won the Western Junior, Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Sunnehanna Amateur and the Northeast Amateur.[8] He played on the winning Arnold Palmer Cup team in 2017 and 2018, the winning Walker Cup team in 2017 and the Eisenhower Trophy team in 2018 that finished second by one stroke.[8] In May 2018, he spent three weeks as the top-ranked golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.[4][5]

Professional career

2019

Morikawa made his debut as a professional at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, where he tied for 14th place. On July 7, Morikawa tied for second at the 3M Open. On July 14, he tied for 4th at John Deere Classic. With that finish, Morikawa secured PGA Tour membership for the 2019–20 season.[9] Morikawa then won his first PGA Tour event two weeks later, at the Barracuda Championship – beating Troy Merritt by three points.[10]

2020

On June 14, Morikawa tied for the lead of the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge after 72 holes. This was the first PGA Tour tournament played after a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Morikawa missed a short par putt on the first playoff hole to lose to Daniel Berger.[11]

On June 26, Morikawa missed his first cut on the PGA Tour at the Travelers Championship, ending a streak of 22 consecutive made cuts, the second-longest streak to start a professional career to the 25 made by Tiger Woods.[3]

On July 12, Morikawa beat Justin Thomas in a playoff to win his second PGA Tour title at the Workday Charity Open. The win was the first non-alternate PGA Tour victory for him.[12] Morikawa rallied from a three-shot deficit with three holes remaining, and made a 25-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to stay alive, before winning with a par on the third playoff hole.

On August 9, Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship to win a major in only his second major championship start.[13] His final round of 64 tied the lowest final round score shot by a PGA Champion, matching Steve Elkington in the 1995 PGA Championship.[14] With his win, Morikawa was the third youngest golfer to win the PGA Championship when he won the event at age 23.[15] Morikawa was also the fourth golfer to win the PGA Championship before turning 24 years old.[14]

2021

On February 28, Morikawa won the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. Morikawa won by three strokes over Billy Horschel, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka.[16]

On July 18, Morikawa won the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club in Kent, England. Morikawa won by two strokes over Jordan Spieth. He became the first player since Bobby Jones in 1926 to win two majors in eight or fewer starts.[17] He also became the first player to win two different majors in his debut appearance.[18]

In August, Morikawa finished in a tie for 3rd place at the Olympic Games. He lost in a 7-man playoff for the bronze medal.[19]

In September, Morikawa played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Morikawa went 3–0–1 including a tie in his Sunday singles match against Viktor Hovland.

In November, he won the European Tour's season ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. He also became the first American to win the Race to Dubai.[20]

2022

In February, Morikawa shot a final-round 65 at the Genesis Invitational to finish tied-second; two shots behind Joaquín Niemann.[21]

2023

At the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, Morikawa held a six shot lead after 54 holes. He played the first 67 holes of the tournament without a bogey, but then made three consecutively and ultimately finished second; two strokes behind Jon Rahm. This tied Morikawa for the PGA Tour record for largest 54-hole lead squandered.[22]

In February, he finished solo third at the Farmers Insurance Open, three shots behind Max Homa.[23]

In July, Morikawa tied for the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic after 72 holes, shooting a bogey-free 8-under 64. He lost to a birdie from Rickie Fowler on the first playoff hole, finishing tied-second with Adam Hadwin.[24]

In October, Morikawa won the Zozo Championship, ending a 27-month winless drought on the PGA Tour.[25]

Personal life

The son of Debbie and Blaine Morikawa, Morikawa was born in Los Angeles, California,[26] and is of Chinese-Japanese descent. He graduated from La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, in Los Angeles County. Morikawa graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019 with a degree in business administration.[1]

In December 2021, Morikawa got engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Katherine Zhu.[27] They were married on November 26, 2022.[28]

Amateur wins

Source:[8]

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (6)

Legend
Major championships (2)
World Golf Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 28, 2019 Barracuda Championship 47 pts (13-7-13-14=47) 3 points United States Troy Merritt
2 Jul 12, 2020 Workday Charity Open 65-66-72-66=269 −19 Playoff United States Justin Thomas
3 Aug 9, 2020 PGA Championship 69-69-65-64=267 −13 2 strokes England Paul Casey, United States Dustin Johnson
4 Feb 28, 2021 WGC-Workday Championship 70-64-67-69=270 −18 3 strokes United States Billy Horschel, Norway Viktor Hovland,
United States Brooks Koepka
5 Jul 18, 2021 The Open Championship 67-64-68-66=265 −15 2 strokes United States Jordan Spieth
6 Oct 22, 2023 Zozo Championship1 64-73-66-63=266 −14 6 strokes United States Eric Cole, United States Beau Hossler

1Co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, but unofficial event on that tour.

PGA Tour playoff record (1–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge United States Daniel Berger Lost to par on first extra hole
2 2020 Workday Charity Open United States Justin Thomas Won with par on third extra hole
3 2021 Memorial Tournament United States Patrick Cantlay Lost to par on first extra hole
4 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic United States Rickie Fowler, Canada Adam Hadwin Fowler won with birdie on first extra hole

European Tour wins (4)

Legend
Major championships (2)
World Golf Championships (1)
Tour Championships (1)
Rolex Series (1)[a]
Other European Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 9, 2020 PGA Championship 69-69-65-64=267 −13 2 strokes England Paul Casey, United States Dustin Johnson
2 Feb 28, 2021 WGC-Workday Championship 70-64-67-69=270 −18 3 strokes United States Billy Horschel, Norway Viktor Hovland,
United States Brooks Koepka
3 Jul 18, 2021 The Open Championship 67-64-68-66=265 −15 2 strokes United States Jordan Spieth
4 Nov 21, 2021 DP World Tour Championship, Dubai 68-68-69-66=271 −17 3 strokes Sweden Alexander Björk, England Matt Fitzpatrick

Playoff record

Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2016 Air Capital Classic
(as an amateur)
United States Ollie Schniederjans, United States J. J. Spaun Schniederjans won with birdie on second extra hole

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
2020 PGA Championship 2 shot deficit −13 (69-69-65-64=267) 2 strokes England Paul Casey, United States Dustin Johnson
2021 The Open Championship 1 shot deficit −15 (67-64-68-66=265) 2 strokes United States Jordan Spieth

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament T44 T18 5 T10 T3
PGA Championship 1 T8 T55 T26 T4
U.S. Open T35 CUT T4 T5 T14 T14
The Open Championship NT 1 CUT CUT T16
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 5
PGA Championship 1 0 0 2 3 3 5 5
U.S. Open 0 0 0 2 2 4 6 5
The Open Championship 1 0 0 1 1 2 4 2
Totals 2 0 1 7 9 13 20 17
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (2020 Masters – 2022 U.S. Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (2021 PGA – 2022 Masters)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Players Championship T41 CUT T13 T45

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

World Golf Championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
2021 WGC-Workday Championship 2 shot lead −18 (70-64-67-69=270) 3 strokes United States Billy Horschel, Norway Viktor Hovland,
United States Brooks Koepka

Results timeline

Tournament 2020 2021 2022 2023
Championship T42 1
Match Play NT1 T56 R16 T28
Invitational T20 T26
Champions NT1 NT1 NT1

1Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Notes

  1. ^ The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai is also a Rolex Series tournament.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Collin Morikawa – Profile". PGA Tour.
  2. ^ "Week 43 2021 Ending 24 Oct 2021" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Melton, Zephyr (June 26, 2020). "Collin Morikawa had an impressive streak come to a close at the Travelers". Golf.com. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Week 17 – Tavatanakit matches Vu to join top 10". World Amateur Golf Ranking. May 2, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Week 20 – Ghim Moves to Number One with Raleigh Win". World Amateur Golf Ranking. May 23, 2018.
  6. ^ "Collin Morikawa". ESPN. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "2018–19 Men's Golf Roster: Collin Morikawa". Cal Bears. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Collin Morikawa". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  9. ^ Romine, Brentley (July 14, 2019). "Morikawa clinches Tour card for next season; Hovland, Redman add to FedExCup hauls". Golf Channel. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  10. ^ Gray, Will (July 28, 2019). "'The gates are open': Morikawa rallies for breakthrough win at Barracuda". Golf Channel. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  11. ^ Ferguson, Doug (June 14, 2020). "Daniel Berger beats Collin Morikawa in sudden-death playoff at Colonial". CBC. Associated Press.
  12. ^ Ferguson, Doug (July 12, 2020). "Collin Morikawa caps wild comeback in sudden-death playoff at Workday Charity Open". CBC. Associated Press.
  13. ^ "Collin Morikawa seizes the day to claim US PGA Championship victory". The Guardian. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Everill, Ben (August 10, 2020). "Morikawa comes of age at PGA Championship". PGA Tour.
  15. ^ Murphy, Brian (August 9, 2020). "Collin Morikawa Delivers Magic at the P.G.A. Championship". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  16. ^ DiMeglio, Steve (February 28, 2021). "Collin Morikawa honors Tiger Woods with WGC-Workday Championship win". Golfweek. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  17. ^ Farmer, Sam (July 18, 2021). "Collin Morikawa makes history with two-shot victory at British Open". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  18. ^ Hawkins, John (July 18, 2021). "Collin Morikawa Wins British Open at Royal St. George's for Second Major Title". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  19. ^ Stafford, Ali (August 1, 2021). "Tokyo Olympics: Xander Schauffele wins golf gold as Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey miss out on medals". Sky Sports.
  20. ^ "Morikawa becomes 1st American to be European Tour's No 1". USA Today. Associated Press. November 21, 2021.
  21. ^ MacKay, Matthew (February 21, 2022). "Collin Morikawa earns T2 finish at 2022 Genesis Invitational". Fantasy Pros. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  22. ^ Kelly, Todd (January 9, 2023). "Collin Morikawa joins list of largest blown 54-hole leads in PGA Tour history". Golfweek. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  23. ^ "Farmers Insurance Open: Max Homa wins at Torrey Pines as Jon Rahm misses out on PGA Tour three-peat". Sky Sports. January 29, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  24. ^ Schupak, Adam (July 2, 2023). "Rickie Fowler survives three-way playoff for dramatic win at 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic". Golfweek. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  25. ^ Wade, Stephen (October 22, 2023). "Collin Morikawa wins Zozo Championship in Japan for first PGA Tour title in more than two years". Associated Press News. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  26. ^ "Collin Morikawa". European Tour. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  27. ^ Everill, Ben (December 2, 2021). "Collin Morikawa announces engagement". PGA Tour.
  28. ^ Faraudo, Jeff (November 29, 2022). "Former Cal Golfer Collin Morikawa Marries Long-Time Girlfriend Katherine Zhu". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  29. ^ "Collin Morikawa Wins 112th Trans-Miss". trans-miss.org. July 9, 2015.
  30. ^ "AGC Silicon Valley Am: Morikawa And Donnelly Claim Titles". amateurgolf.com. January 17, 2016.
  31. ^ Romine, Brentley (June 18, 2016). "Cal's Collin Morikawa closes with 62 to win Sunnehanna Amateur". Golfweek.