Cal Golf: An Epic Collapse by Collin Morikawa; A Weekend to Remember for Max Homa
Without a bogey through his first 67 holes over four days at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Collin Morikawa saw it all fall apart beginning on the 14th hole on Sunday on the Plantation Course of the Kapalua Resort in Maui.
Morikawa, equipped with a seven-stroke lead at one point in the final round, bogeyed the 14th, 15th and 16th holes while Jon Rahm scorched the back nine and went on to a two-stroke victory in the PGA tour’s first event of the calendar year.
Max Homa, Cal’s other prominent player on the tour, completed a remarkable rally after two unremarkable days, and finished in a tie for third at minus-23 after a final-round 66.
But even for Morikawa, a two-time major winner, this had to be a crushing outcome. He led from the start on Thursday, shooting 64, 66 and 65 on consecutive days over the par-73 layout, and took a six-stroke lead into Sunday.
Only eight players had failed to win a PGA tournament after leading by at least six strokes through three rounds. The 25-year-old Cal grad, who carded a 1-under 72 on Sunday, now reluctantly adds his name to that list.
Shots like this one on the 16th hole contributed to Morikawa's undoing:
Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, began the final round with a bogey then put together nine birdies and an eagle over the final 17 holes. He birdied the 12th, 13th and 14th hole then made an eagle-3 on the par-5 15th to go 26 under.
With his three straight bogeys through No. 16, Morikawa slipped to minus-24, and suddenly was two strokes back.
Each player birdied the 18th, but it was too late for Morikawa.
"Bit of a crazy day, I'm not going to lie," Rahm said.
"It's going to hurt, but I've got to get over it because we're still in the very early parts of the season," Morikawa said.
Morikawa seemed certain to record his first victory since July 2021, when he won The Open at Royal St. George’s in England.
He was on the brink of a win barely more than a year ago at the Hero World Challenge, where he took a five-stroke lead into Sunday and could have secured a world No. 1 ranking with a win. It didn’t happen then and it didn’t happen this weekend.
The amazing thing is just how spectacular he was through 67 holes, with 25 birdies, an eagle and no bogeys. He was attempting to become just the fifth player to complete 72 holes in a PGA tour event without a bogey.
Morikawa gave full credit to Rahm, but acknowledged his role in the epic turnabout.
"He still shot 63," Morikawa said. "He definitely made the birdies when he needed to. But I also made bogeys. When you're getting bogeys at that time of the tournament they're costly. I definitely felt the weight of that.”
ESPN reported that Morikawa became the first player in tour history to enter the final round with a lead of 6 or more strokes, shoot under par in the final round, and fail to win.
Morikawa still took home a runner-up paycheck of $1.5 million from the increased $15 million total purse. But Rahm’s victory was worth $2.7 million.
Homa won $840,000 after coupling scores of 63 and 66 on the weekend following a pair of 70s to open the tournament.
He made his final move up the leaderboard on the back nine when he strung together birdies on 11 and 12 followed by an eagle on No. 13, then two more birdies, on 15 and 18.
“Pretty stoked on tied 3rd this week considering how the first 2 rounds went,” Homa said on Twitter, while also celebrating how his newborn got the chance to share the experience.
Cover photo of Collin Morikawa being consoled by caddie J.J. Jakovac by Kyle Terada, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo