Another close call at Colonial for Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa has been runner-up at Colonial Country Club before. Twice before in fact. But this one stung a little more.

Prior to watching in horror as his 3-foot par putt lipped out on the opening hole of a sudden death playoff with Daniel Berger, the 23-year-old had a history of close calls at this historic venue.

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The PGA TOUR young star was a finalist in the prestigious Ben Hogan award in 2018 and 2019 during his amateur days. He was invited to a lavish ceremony to declare the winner at the iconic course that hosts the Charles Schwab Challenge and was home to Hogan himself.

Since 2005 the winner of the Ben Hogan Award – given to the outstanding male amateur and collegiate golfer of the year – has also been awarded an exemption into the following years Charles Schwab Challenge.

Morikawa could only grin and congratulate as Doug Ghim in 2018 and Viktor Hovland in 2019 edged him out for the award and automatic spot in the PGA TOUR event.

It seemed 2020 was going to be a chance for a little revenge … until it wasn’t.

Trying to be just the third-youngest champion behind Sergio Garcia (21) and Jordan Spieth (22), Morikawa had forced his way to the top of the leaderboard as his round came to a close. Taking advantage of a nice bounce through some trees off the tee, Morikawa stuck his approach inside 6 feet on the 72nd hole.

With a chance to best Berger’s score and take the lead outright, the former Cal standout saw his attempt slide to the left, leaving extra holes on the cards. Still, given his incredible beginning to TOUR life after graduating just last year, a win was still well within reach.

Morikawa has now made his first 21 cuts as a professional on TOUR, the longest streak of a newcomer since Tiger Woods, and already has a win at the Barracuda Championship last summer. A three-month enforced break from the COVID-19 pandemic did little to stop his early success.

The youngster’s recovery chip from short of the green in the playoff was pretty smooth, but the putt to extend was pushed ever so slightly off the right edge and cruelly lipped out. Of course he had been a perfect 39 of 39 inside 3 feet for the tournament prior to that point.

“This one I had full control… It's going to be a little bittersweet. I know I'm going to have to look back at it before next week and see all the positives, but I'm also going to have to nit-pick what I did wrong,” Morikawa said in the aftermath about his history at Colonial.

“I just hit a bad putt … Obviously it was a solid week overall but just didn’t get the job done. I was hitting every fairway and I had full control over my tee shots. So it's going to be something I just have to figure out but this one bites a little harder.”

The runner-up finish moved Morikawa from 41st to 18th in the FedExCup. He is no doubt a serious contender for the season long prize.

Next up is the RBC Heritage, another shot-makers course that should suit Morikawa’s game. After his first runner-up on the PGA TOUR, Morikawa bounced back with a T4 and then came his breakout victory. He could easily find himself in the mix again at Harbour Town in Hilton Head.

“It gives me a lot of confidence. These are going to be some of the best fields out here. I know many people have talked about the next few courses in line in the schedule, so I'm really excited for what's to come,” he said.

“It's exciting to be back. It's exciting to be playing again, and I look forward to the next few weeks.”