Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Closes With a 68, Finishes in Tie for 26th at RBC Heritage

Jordan Spieth beats Patrick Cantlay on the first playoff hole to claim the title.
Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Closes With a 68, Finishes in Tie for 26th at RBC Heritage
Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Closes With a 68, Finishes in Tie for 26th at RBC Heritage /

After three unspectacular but steady rounds of golf, Collin Morikawa wrapped up the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C., with a dynamic final 18 holes.

The 25-year-old Cal grad shot a final-round 68 on Sunday that included eight birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey. It left Morikawa at seven-under for the tournament and in a tie for 26th place the week after he finished fifth at the Masters.

Through three rounds on the Harbour Town Golf Links, Morikawa was tied for 34th place with a scorecard that included nine birdies and only there bogeys.

Jordan Spieth, who missed the cut at the Masters last week, won his first tournament as a father and his first since winning the Valero Texas Open last Easter Sunday when he beat Patrick Cantlay on the first playoff hole.

"I won this golf tournament without a putter," groused Spieth, who said it was his worst putting performance in a tournament where he contended or won.

Spieth shot a final-round 66, including eagles on the second and fifth holes, to pull into the tie with Cantlay, who had a 68 on Sunday, both finishing at 13 under. Cantlay made a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to pull into a tie with Spieth.

Seven players tied for third place, just one stroke behind the leaders at 12 under. Among them was Harold Varner III, who shot a third-round 64 and took a lead into Sunday in pursuit of his first PGA tour win.

Masters runner-up Shane Lowry was positioned to possibly win, at 14 under through 13 holes. But he scored a double-bogey on the par-3 14th hole to lose the lead.

Australia’s Cam Davis had eight birdies in a bogey-free final 63, but also wound up one stroke shy of joining Spieth and Cantlay in the playoff.

Twenty players finished within four strokes at the top of the leaderboard. 

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Kyle Terada, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo


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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics.