Collin Morikawa joins elite company with World Golf Championship-Workday victory
Not even the glaring sun bouncing off a lake at the Concession Golf Club’s 16th hole could thwart Collin Morikawa’s championship form.
The 24-year-old won the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship on Sunday with a 69 to finish 18-under-par.
Viktor Hovland (67), Billy Horschel (70) and Brooks Koepka (70) finished three shots behind to share second place.
Nicknamed the “Concussion” for how difficult the course can play, Morikawa’s fourth PGA Tour victory came on the strength of his putting.
A change to his grip, going with the saw grip that 1998 Masters champion Mark O’Meara popularized, clicked this week on the Concession’s undulating greens.
Morikawa went from entering the week ranked 213th in putting strokes gained to 10th in that category this week.
“Now I feel confident I can take the stroke out of play and I can just really focus on speed, I can focus on the line, how do I get that ball to fall in the hole where I want it,” Morikawa said. “Where before I even noticed now how I’m aiming, before it was almost like a left to right putt. I would aim a little farther left. And I caught myself last week trying to aim farther left because I’d almost shove it, and I would jab at it. But if I look at all my putts I’ve hit over the past two weeks, I don’t think I’ve had one of those. And that’s what’s really exciting for me.”
The victory earned Morikawa $1.82 million as well as moving into select company. He became the second person under the age of 25 to win a World Golf Championship event and a major.
The other to achieve the feat was Tiger Woods, whose trademark Sunday red and black was on display through various players donning the final round outfit at the Concession in tribute after Woods suffered multiple leg injuries that needed surgery following a car accident earlier last week.
“Tiger means everything to me,” Morikawa said on the broadcast shortly after his round ended. “And, yes, he had the crash and thankfully he’s all right and hopefully he has a quick and great recovery, but I don’t think we say thank you enough. So I want to say thank you to Tiger, because sometimes you lose people too early and that’s what — Kobe. I lost my grandpa about a month ago. And you don’t get to say thank you enough. So thank you, guys.”
Lots of players wore red and black Sunday to honor Woods. Morikawa planned to do the same, but his shipment of clothes from Adidas didn’t make it in time due to inclement weather.
Instead, he did what Woods did best during the prime of his career: close out 54-hole leads.
“My agent said even though the shirt wasn’t there, go out and play like Tiger would with the lead,” Morikawa said. “I think I did.”
Not only did Morikawa tame the Concession with his putting, he also utilized a chipping tip from Bradenton resident and Concession member Paul Azinger.
“It just saved my life this week,” Morikawa said on the NBC broadcast of the event after the win about his 10-15 minute conversation with Azinger.
While 39 players finished under par for the tournament, the Concession also proved how brutal it can get. Yet despite the difficult nature, the kickoff to the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing this year left a positive mark on the field.
“I would love it,” Hovland, who tied for second, said. “To be honest, I wasn’t really much of a fan when I played the practice round here, not a really big fan of Florida golf courses, but every single round I liked this course a lot better. It’s just a good course.”
Rory McIlroy, who notched a top 10 with a 12-under week, said the course was really well received this week.
“Maybe there was a couple of greens that are a little severe, a couple of pin placements anyway over the weekend that were maybe a touch severe, but I think when we come back again that the guys who set the golf course up will know that,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, I liked it, I think it’s convenient for a lot of guys, and I think everyone enjoyed it.”
The Concession was a one-year host for the WGC tournament that is normally played in Mexico City, and that was due to the global COVID-19 pandemic pushing the event out for a year. The East Manatee County track won the winning bid to be a temporary host.
“I’d play it if it came back here,” Koepka said. “If it goes back to Mexico, you won’t see me, though. I struggled with that place.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2021 at 7:20 PM.
