Long day on tap for Mickelson’s potential sub

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Collin Morikawa seized control on the stretch of scoring holes on the back nine at Kapalua to pull away from the elite field, making four birdies over his final five holes for an 8-under 65 and a six-shot lead in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. No one could keep up with Morikawa, a two-time major champion who went to a putting coach late last year and is seeing it start to pay off. It makes for a frightening complement to his supreme iron play. Morikawa has yet to make a bogey over 54 holes on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, and he has rarely come close. He made a 10-footer for par on the fourth hole to avoid a long three-putt, making that as pure as so many of his birdies. Morikawa was at 24-under 195, six shots clear of U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and J.J. Spaun. Morikawa is among 10 players at Kapalua who failed to win this year. Now it’s an elevated event with a $15 million purse, and the PGA TOUR chose to expand the field to include anyone reaching the FedExCup finale at East Lake. One more round like this and Morikawa can be assured of a tee time for next year. Scheffler, who along with Spaun started two shots behind, tried to keep up with Morikawa. The birdies dried up on the back nine, however, and Scheffler missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th that at least could have put him in the final group. He had to settle for a 69. Fitzpatrick had five birdies over his last seven holes in his round of 66 and will be in the final group for his first trip to Hawaii. Spaun dropped two shots on the back nine, one when his ball spun off the 13th green and rolled 50 yards down the fairway, the other when his second shot to the par-5 15th sailed left and into the native grass. He had a 69. Max Homa had no trouble with Kapalua, making a career-high 10 birdies for a 63 and wondering exactly how he did it. That only got him to within eight shots of the lead. “It didn’t feel like I played four shots better than my last two days combined, but I did,” he said. “It’s just not a very good game for your mind. But it was nice to shoot 10 under.” Jordan Spieth was three shots behind to start the third round and lost ground with three bogeys in his round of 71. Everyone is chasing Morikawa, and it looks to be hopeless. Morikawa began his scoring with a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth hole, made a tough 20-footer for birdie on the next and did everything right by doing so little wrong.

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NAPLES, Fla. — Steve Stricker provided the pep talk and Sean O’Hair delivered the shot to secure victory Sunday in the QBE Shootout. Stricker and O’Hair closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory over Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry, effectively clinching it when O’Hair made an eagle on the par-5 17th hole at Tiburon Golf Club. In the final round of better ball, Stricker and O’Hair rallied from a two-shot deficit on the front nine, built a two-shot lead through 14 holes and were ahead by one shot heading to the reachable 17th with the green guarded by a huge bunker with a vetted, waist-high wall. “Walking to 17 tee, Steve said, `A 3 would go a long way right now,'” O’Hair said. O’Hair hit 7-iron from 195 yards over the bunker and it bounced onto the green about 12 feet away. McDowell and Lowry both hit into the bunker, with Lowry’s ball against the face of the wall that forced him to play sideways into the bunker. Both players had to settle for par, and O’Hair rolled in his eagle putt for a three-shot lead. “He played great today,” Stricker said. “He hit a great shot on 17. That’s the stuff you need to do to win a tournament, and Sean pulled it off.” McDowell holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole as he and Lowry closed with a 66. Stricker and O’Hair finished at 26-under 190 and each earned $410,000. It was the second time Stricker and O’Hair won the team event hosted by Greg Norman, but the first time as partners. Stricker won in 2009 with Jerry Kelly, and O’Hair won in 2012 with Kenny Perry. Pat Perez and Brian Harman shot 64 to finish third. Lexi Thompson, the only LPGA Tour player in the 12-team field, and Tony Finau closed with a 66 and tied for fourth. O’Hair was playing for only the second time since he had surgery after the BMW Championship in Chicago to clean up cartilage in his right knee. “This is always a great event to finish the year off with, and to pull this off is special,” O’Hair said. “But to do it with Steve is even that much better for me. I’m a golf geek, so he’s a friend of mine, but still it’s kind of hard not to look at him and kind of put him a little bit up on a pedestal.”

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