Collin Morikawa Makes a Sunday Charge for His Best Finish at Masters

Ex-Cal golfer holes out with brilliant shot from the sand on the final hole to finish fifth

Former Cal golfer Collin Morikawa did not win the Masters, but he must have felt like a winner after his final shot in the fourth round on Sunday afternoon in Augusta, Ga.

A few seconds after playing partner Rory McIlroy made a remarkable shot from the sand to birdie the 18th hole, Morikawa did likewise.  It was not quite as spectacular as McIroy's shot, but it was special and completed a round in which Morikawa shot a 5-under-par 67, leaving him at 4-under for the tournament.

It was not enough to catch Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player who captured his first major title by shooting 1 under par on Sunday and 10-under for the tournament for a three-stroke victory over the field. But it was good enough for Morikawa to finish in fifth place, six strokes behind Scheffler, three strokes in back of McIlroy, who shot an 8-under-par 64 on Sunday, and one stroke behind Shane Lowry and Cameron Smith.

The fifth-place finish will pay Morikawa $600,000 for his four days of work.

It was a remarkable round for Morikawa, who had struggled with his game in the previous three events. 

But he put it together on Sunday, recording his best finish in the Masters in his brief pro career.  His previous best finish at the August National Golf Club had been tied for 18th, which he achieved last year.  He placed 44th in his only other Masters in 2020.

This week he said he was going to rely on his strengths rather than modify his game to fit the course. And it worked out well.  

On Sunday Morikawa played the final six holes in 4 under par, which included an eagle on the 13th, showing again he seems to play his best golf in the majors when the pressure is on.  The 25-year-old Morikawa has now played nine majors, winning two of them, finishing in the top five in four of them and in the top 10 in five of them.

Morikawa and McIroy seemed to feed off each other as both inched up the leaderboard.

Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy. Photo by Rob Schumacher, USA TODAY

After 12 holes Sunday, Morikawa was at 1-under for the day and even par for the tournament, leaving him well behind the leaders.

Things turned around on the 13th hole. A great second shot set Morikawa up for an eagle-3 on that par-5 hole that put him at 2-under for the tournament and 3-under for the round.

He then birdied the 15th hole, setting up the heroics on the final hole.

McIlroy made a magnificent birdie from the sand, hitting his shot well up on the green and letting it feed all the way to the hole.

Morikawa followed with his sand shot, a straight-on delivery that targeted the hole and fell into the bottom of the cup.

Max Homa, the other former Cal golfer in the field, did not challenge the leaders, shooting a final-round 6-over-par 78 to finish at 14-over and tied for 48th. He was hoping for better as indicated by his Tweet after Sunday's round, which commented on his Tweet from Saturday night:

Maybe the worst prediction of all time https://t.co/aPFS52hbhm

— max homa (@Maxhoma) April 10, 2022

But Homa's major achievement this week came after the second round, when he made the cut for the first time in his career.

It was only the third time Homa made the cut at one of the four majors, and he nearly had his best finish in a major.  He has never made the cut at the U.S. Open, and he bettered his best finish at the PGA Championships, which was a tie for 64th in 2019.  His only better result in a major came at the 2021 British Open, when he tied for 40th place.

His pay for finishing tied for 48th this week will be about $38,500.

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Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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