Morikawa Takes The Workday Charity Open In A Playoff

Collin Morikawa is a name you’ll be hearing a lot over the next, oh, 25 years or so. The 23-year old notched his second career PGA Tour win in just his first full year on the tour, winning the inaugural Workday Charity Open Sunday the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

Morikawa won on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff with Justin Thomas. It was sweet redemption for Morikawa, who lost a month ago at the Charles Schwab Challenge in a playoff to Daniel Berger.

Morikawa was staring at another playoff loss after Thomas drained a 50-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole. Morikawa had to answer with a 24-foot birdie putt or it was over. Well, spoiler alert, he made it.

“We agreed on a line, hit it perfect exactly how we wanted, and really helped that J.T. had that putt about halfway in between during regulation,” Morikawa said of the round-saving putt after the round. “So, I kind of knew what it did at the end. So as long as I got my line started on there, we had a good shot at making it.”

The putt extended the playoff and then Morikawa won it two holes later after Thomas hit his drive into the trees and had to punch out. Thomas made bogey and Morikawa parred the hole to win it.

“This is a huge kind of stepping-stone,” Morikawa said. “We got No. 1 out of the way, we got No. 2, let the gates just open and let's just keep going because obviously it was a tough loss at Colonial a month ago, but I learned a lot. I learned a lot from last week or a week and a half ago at Travelers after my missed cut. This is just more positives, more learning for me, and I've got to go back to, okay, what did I do great, what did I do wrong this week, how can I get better, move on to next week and make a lot of birdies.”

It was a bitter pill for Thomas, who had a three-shot lead after an eagle on 15 to get to 21-under. But then Thomas bogeyed two of his last three holes, including the 18th, to fall to 19-under and into a playoff with Morikawa, who posted a score of 19-under after a birdie on 17.

“It would have been a fun day to have some fans just in terms of the ups and downs and the shot making,” Thomas said after the round. “Well done,” he told Morikawa, “it’s not our last battle.”

It was Morikawa’s second career win, after winning the Barracuda Championship last summer. He has only missed one cut in his professional career, the Traveler’s Championship two weeks ago. He is currently sixth in the FedExCup standings.

Viktor Hovland finished alone in third at 15-under, while Chase Seiffert finished fourth at 14-under. Ian Poulter and Gary Woodland ended up in a tie for 5th at 12-under.

Next week the tour stays right here at Muirfield Village Golf Club for the Memorial. Tiger Woods is in the field for the first time since play was suspended for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some Info Taken From PGATour.com