Collin Morikawa, who came to Japan to end his winless streak in the country of his father’s birth parents, won the PGA Tour Zozo Championship by six strokes on Sunday with a bogey free 7-under 63.
Morikawa said, “It feels great.” “I knew that I would get here eventually, but it feels like your first major or win. People begin to ask questions and why. What went wrong? I had to ask myself. What’s wrong? What is the why behind finishing second, fifth or even a victory? This win is huge.”
Morikawa is of Japanese descent and Chinese descent. He won his sixth Tour title in Chiba (Japan), 25 minutes northeast from Tokyo. It was also his first Tour title since the British Open of 2021. The 26-year old former Cal Bear had won his last global title at the DP World Tour Championship in 2021, which was 27 months ago. Morikawa has won four times since he last took the title, including the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He also had 14 top-10 finishes and was tied with Tommy Fleetwood in the top-10 finish category for the past two seasons.
Morikawa, speaking at a press event on the eve before the tournament, said: “Here is one last opportunity for the season, to finish on a positive note.” I know my goal and what I want to accomplish this week, which is to stand up and win.
Morikawa took the lead with a 64 on Thursday, but struggled in Friday’s strong winds to finish at 73. Morikawa started Saturday’s round 3-over after four holes, but fell behind by nine strokes. He rallied with five birdies in his final six holes and shot 66.
Morikawa, who was two shots behind heading into the Sunday round, said he would get off to an early start in the final round. He did exactly that. Morikawa birdied the third hole and three of the four last holes on the front-nine to shoot 30. He built a three stroke lead at 11-under as Justin Suh chunked a sand chip at the fourth, making his second consecutive bogey. He shot a final round 74. Beau Hossler, Eric Cole and Suh, who were in the same group as Suh, also faltered. Morikawa added a birdie to his score at No. Morikawa sank a birdie of 15 feet at No. Morikawa’s 72-hole score of 14-under-par 266 was the only one to make a serious charge. Cole and Hossler made birdies on the final hole to tie for second place, one stroke ahead of Rob Shelton (65)and Ryo Ishikawa(67).
Collin Morikawa’s tee-shot on the 10th green during the final round at Accordia Narashino Golf Country Club, Inzai, Chiba. (Photo by Lintao Zhu/Getty Images).
Morikawa stated, “The game felt great.” “Everything just kind of clicked.”
Morikawa had dropped from No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, where he was ranked second, to No. Despite his winless streak, Morikawa managed to reach the Tour Championship in the FedEx Cup top 30 the last two years and represented the U.S. at both the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. He claimed that he had lost his trademark fade, which removed the left side from the course. However, his slump was still the same as what most professionals would consider a good season.
It was an experience for Morikawa that will make him stronger. In August, Morikawa said that he had learned a lot from his two previous seasons. It’s frustrating, yes, but I love it. “I love it when I’m in these positions, and I’m able to compete, whether for one round, two rounds, or four.”
It is especially impressive when he wins, as he did at the Zozo Championship.
