The thing about clichés is there generally is a measure of truth in them.
As in, “The future is now.â€
Collin Morikawa stands as Exhibit A in that regard, having just added his first World Golf Championship trophy to the PGA Championship he won last summer, cementing the 24-year-old among the game’s elite, even if he’s in just his second full season on the PGA Tour.
And who did Morikawa have to fend off to win the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession?
Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler, both of whom are in their second full seasons on tour, along with veterans Brooks Koepka and Billy Horschel.
It’s Morikawa’s third victory since the PGA Tour’s restart last summer and his second in an event with Workday as a title sponsor, the first coming when he beat Justin Thomas in a playoff at Muirfield Village last July. He now has four PGA Tour victories in 39 career starts.
He joins Tiger Woods as the only players younger than age 25 to have won a major championship and a World Golf Championship.
Morikawa is a brilliantly consistent ballstriker (he entered the week ranked third on tour in strokes gained approaching the green) and at The Concession Club with its array of risk-reward shots, his control glowed like the Florida sunshine. While other players seemed to be one loose swing from a big number – and many were – Morikawa kept the stress level relatively low.
If there is a perceived weakness in Morikawa’s game, it’s putting where he ranked 213th on tour in strokes gained before play began last week. It’s part of what led Morikawa to seek advice from Mark O’Meara, who convinced him to change his putting grip.
Morikawa adopted a saw-style grip – placing the grip between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand – and the results were instantly apparent.
“It’s just like someone trying to gain distance or do something with their golf game,†Morikawa said. “It’s the same thing with putting, I’m trying to get better and I’m trying to find something that is more consistent, that rolls the ball a little better.
“And aside from reading the greens and figuring out the speed, this putting stroke ... just feels comfortable. I’m sure I’m going to make little adjustments here and there, but for the most part it feels really good and I’ve never felt a putting stroke like this.â€
Morikawa, a West Coast guy who hasn’t played much golf in Florida, also sought chipping advice from Paul Azinger, a Concession member, to help him handle the grained Bermuda grass.
“What a week,†Morikawa said. “I was working on so much the past couple of weeks. It got me through this week. My game felt so good.â€
Ron Green Jr.
