MAJOR
The Open Championship
Morikawa Becomes The Champion Golfer Of The Year
Collin Morikawa created history winning the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George’s in England. The world No. 4 became the first player in history to win two major titles on their debut—he won the 2020 PGA Championship at Harding Park at his first attempt. Morikawa, aged 24, became the second player to win The Open and The PGA Championships before the age of 25 (he joined Tiger Woods). And, the young Californian became the first player since Bobby Jones in 1926 to collect two major victories in eight or fewer major starts.
Morikawa was brilliant! Four birdies and no bogeys en route to a 66 on Sunday got the job done. With stunning iron play, clutch putting and an amazing display of composure, the now five-time PGA Tour winner outlasted fellow American Jordan Spieth by two shots. Spain’s Jon Rahm and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen finished a further two shots back and in joint third place.
Morikawa began the final round one shot back from 54-hole leader Oosthuizen. After opening his day with six consecutive pars, Morikawa poured in three birdies on the trot at the 7th, 8th and 9th holes to make the turn in 3-under 35. He took a three-shot lead into the back nine. His fourth birdie of the day came at the 14th hole. Morikawa posted rounds of 67, 64, 68 and 66 to reach 15-under. He became the ninth player to hoist The Claret Jug on his Open debut. And, he created more history setting a new record for the lowest score at Royal St George’s—his 265 strokes beating Greg Norman’s 1993 effort by two.
Spieth, who won The Open in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, was hoping to become just the third American to win two Open Championships before the age of 28 (Tom Watson and Bobby Jones). The 27-year-old was playing in the pairing one group ahead of Morikawa and was four shots off the lead after two bogeys in his first six holes. Spieth then piled on five unanswered birdies over the next eight holes to close within one shot of Morikawa after 14 holes. The three-time major champion made pars at the final four holes to sign for a 4-under 66 and finish runner-up at 13-under. Spieth now boasts 11 top 5 results at major championships.
Oosthuizen was searching for his second Open Championship with a wire-to-wire victory. The 38-year-old held the lead at the end of each of the first three rounds after posting scores of 64, 65 and 69. The world No. 13 set an Open Championship all-time record for the lowest 36-hole score at 129 (64 & 65)—besting the previous 130 held by Nick Faldo from Muirfield in 1992 (66-64) and Brandt Snedeker from Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012 (66-64). Oosthuizen dropped a shot at the 4th hole to fall back in a share of the lead with Morikawa. He fell two shots behind Morikawa after another bogey at the 7th hole. Oosthuizen made the turn in 2-over 37 and found himself four shots off the pace. He produced two birdies on the back nine and one bogey to card a 1-over 71 to finish at 11-under. Since winning The Open Championship at St Andrews in 2010, Oosthuizen has played in 42 majors with six runner-ups and two third places.
Rahm was hoping to become just the seventh golfer in history to win the US Open and The Open Championship in the same year. The 26-year-old, who headed Oosthuizen by one-shot at Torrey Pines last month to earn his maiden major title, fired a final round 4-under 66 that included four birdies in a row from the 13th hole. With his T3 finish, Rahm will reclaim the world No. 1 mantle from Dustin Johnson. Johnson scored 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 8th place.
Former world No. 1 Brooks Koepka produced a stunning 5-under 65 for the equal-best low round on Sunday. Koepka, aged 31, advanced to T6 to continue his amazing run at major championships where he has finished top 10 on 16 occasions from 30 attempts.
Defending champion Shane Lowry was looking to make it back-to-back Open Championships after scoring his maiden major success in 2019 at Royal Portrush. If the Irishman won at Royal St George’s, he would have become the first player to defend his title since his countryman Padraig Harrington won in 2008. The burly Ulsterman fought hard to reach 6-under for the event and finished in a tie for 13th place.
Eleven Australians started in the star-studded 156-man field hoping to emulate the feat of Greg Norman when he hoisted the Claret Jug at this venue in 1993. Only Cameron Smith and Adam Scott managed to make the cut. Smith began the final round at 6-under and an outside chance for victory at six shots back from Oosthuizen. However, the 27-year-old fell back to 2-under for the tournament and in a tie for 33rd after a disappointing final round 4-over 74. Scott closed with a 2-under 68 to get to even par for the event and finish in a tie for 46th.
Germany’s Matthias Schmid secured the coveted Silver Medal awarded to the best amateur in the field who makes the cut. The two-time European Amateur champion shot a 65 on Friday to equal the record for the lowest round in Open history. Schmid’s 282 aggregate (74-65-71-72) left him four clear of China’s Yuxin Lin.
The PGA Tour moves to TPC Twin Cities for the 3M Open. Michael Thompson is the defending champion.
Final Scores
The Open Championship
1. Collin Morikawa -15
2. Jordan Spieth -13
T3. Jon Rahm -11
T3. Louis Oosthuizen -11
5. Dylan Frittelli -9
T6. Brooks Koepka -8
T6. Mackenzie Hughes -8
Australians
T33. Cameron Smith -2
T46. Adam Scott E
MC. Marc Leishman
MC. Min Woo Lee
MC. Matt Jones
MC. Brad Kennedy
MC. Lucas Herbert
MC. Jason Scrivener
MC. Jason Day
MC. Deyen Lawson
MC. Aaron Pike
Photo credit: Oisin Keniry /Getty Images
