Collin Morikawa returned to his parent’s homeland in search of a two-year winless drought ending PGA Tour victory and he did exactly that, cruising to a six-stroke win with a clinical, bogey-free 63 on Sunday.
Speaking on the eve of the ZOZO Championship in Japan, Morikawa, who hadn’t won since the 2021 Open Championship, said, “Here’s one last chance for the season to kind of come off and finish off on a high note. I know what my goal is and I know what I want to do and accomplish this week is really just stand up and find a way to win.”
Needing to overturn a two-stroke deficit, Morikawa made birdies at the third, sixth, eighth and ninth to shoot 30 on the front nine and build a three-stroke lead as 54-hole leader Justin Suh made his second straight bogey on his way to a disappointing final-round 74. Beau Hossler and Eric Cole, who played alongside Suh in the final group, had their own struggles, but it was plain sailing for Morikawa as he picked off further birdies at 12 and 15, before adding another for good measure at the last 18 to post a winning score of -14, with 12 of those 14 strokes picked up in the final 24 holes.
Cole and Hossler finished tied for second at -8, with Bobby Shelton and Ryo Ishikawa tied for fourth at -7. This was Ishikawa’s first PGA Tour top-10 since the Sony Open in early 2021.
Min Woo Lee, whose sister Minjee was on her way to winning the LPGA’s BMW International in nearby Korea, was tied for sixth at -6.
“It feels so good,” Morikawa said. “I knew I was going to get here at some point but it’s like getting your first win or major. People start asking questions and asking why. I had to really look back and ask myself what’s wrong? What’s the why? What’s the reason behind finishing second or fifth versus a win? This win means the world.”
Having trailed by as many as nine strokes in the third round after taking first round leader honours, it was an extremely hard fought victory.
“The game felt very good,” Morikawa said. “Everything kind of clicked.”
Morikawa, who burst onto the scene alongside Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland back in 2019, won twice in his first eight major starts, but had fallen from a height of second in the world to number 20, and had to rely on a captain’s pick from Zach Johnson to earn his ticket to represent the United States at the Ryder Cup in Rome.
But this was always one of the primary targets for the season, given his Japanese and Chinese heritage, and the return to the winners’ circle couldn’t have come at a better time.
“This has been one of those tournaments,” he said, “there’s a few tournaments that are highlighted on my schedule, whether it’s L.A., Tiger’s event at the Genesis, or this one, you know, when you have something to look back on, right?
“Being half Japanese and looking back at that and just being able to connect with the people out here, it means the world. When you’re able to just kind of touch on that little aspect a little bit more, sometimes it pulls a little bit more out of you. When you’re able to represent the United States, right, whether it’s at the Ryder Cup or the Olympics, it just drives you that much more.
“I knew at the beginning of the week that the fans out here are obviously rooting for the Japanese players, but I like to count myself as apart Japanese player in that, so I felt the love. The fans have been incredible and I look forward to coming back many, many more times.”
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