In Hawaii Collin Morikawa goes on the run for victory and mortgages the success in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, a high tournament of the PGA Tour that offers 15,000,000 dollars (with the first coin of 2,700,000). At the Plantation Course (par 73) in Kapalua, in the county of Maui, after the third round the American with a total of 195 (64 66 65, -24) boasts a six-stroke lead over a trio of pursuers made up of his compatriots Scottie Scheffler, John Michael Spaun and the English Matt Fitzpatrick (author of five birdies in the last seven holes), all 2/i with 201 (-18) ahead of the Spanish Jon Rahm and the South Korean Tom Kim, both 5/i with 202 ( -17).
Collin Morikawa, results
Morikawa with 18 holes from the end of the competition has the largest advantage ever held in the competition since 1999, when David Duval then managed to triumph by nine strokes ahead of his opponents.
The 25-year-old from Los Angeles in Hawaii is chasing his sixth title on the circuit. Dry since 18 July 2021 (when he triumphed at The Open), he is the only player on the field at the Sentry Tournament who has not ‘scored’ even a bogey (for him an eagle and six birdies in the third round) Morikawa but not only .
What an opportunity for Scheffler. Second in the world ranking, should he finish the competition within third position (with only one player alongside him) he would return to first place overtaking Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who was absent for the occasion in Hawaii.
Born in Los Angeles to Debbie and Blaine Morikawa, respectively of Chinese and Japanese origin, he began playing golf at the age of 5. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he played the sport from 2015 to 2019 before graduating in business administration.
He turns pro in 2019 by taking part in the Canadian Open, where he finishes in 14th place. In August 2020 he won the PGA Championship at his first attempt, then repeating his success in July 2021 with the victory of the British Open, again as a rookie.
This made him the first golfer in history to win two majors in his first game. The Californian also becomes the seventh golfer since 1900 to win the Open on debut – after Jock Hutchison (1921), Denny Shute (1933), Ben Hogan (1953), Tony Lema (1964), Tom Watson (1975) and Ben Curtis (2003) – as well as setting a new record for strokes on the Royal St.
George’s course with 265 (the previous record of 267, set in 1993, was by Greg Norman). [3]. In 2021 he participates in the Games of the XXXII Olympics in Tokyo finishing third after the scheduled fourth rounds, but on an equal footing with nine other golfers. In the playoffs, however, he was overtaken by Pan Cheng-tsung finishing in fourth place.
