Like father, like son for Kevin Tway at Safeway Open

DUBLIN, Ohio – Collin Morikawa knew what he had to do. He had just seen a prayer of a 50-foot birdie putt drop into the cup. And like those two dozen people standing by the 18th green at Muirfield Village, including Rickie Fowler, who was filming the playoff on his smart phone, he had heard Justin Thomas’ guttural yell in celebration. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Morikawa’s bag? If Morikawa was going to have any chance of winning the inaugural Workday Charity Open, he had to convert his own birdie putt from 24 feet on that first playoff hole. There was no other option. So, he gathered himself and huddled with his caddie, J.J. Jakovac. “We agreed on a line, hit it perfect exactly how we wanted, and really helped that J.T. had that putt about halfway in between during regulation,” Morikawa recalled. “So, I kind of knew what it did at the end. So as long as I got my line started on there, we had a good shot at making it.” And he did. That clutch putt didn’t seal Morikawa’s victory – he would two-putt from 10 feet on the third extra hole to make that happen – but it was the signature moment in a roller-coaster afternoon of lead changes and emotion that Thomas would later call simply a “bizarre” day. “It would have been a fun day to have some fans just in terms of the ups and downs and the shot making,” acknowledged the disappointed runner-up, who lost a two-shot lead on the front nine, then built it back to three on the back with five birdies and an eagle in an eight-hole stretch. Thomas unraveled with bogeys on the 16th and 18th holes, though, and coupled with Morikawa’s 8-foot birdie putt on No. 17, the stage was set for the frantic and frenetic playoff. As Morikawa later said, it was a “long, long 21 holes.” Later, though, after fulfilling all his media obligations, the winner could relax. He posted a photo of himself holding the crystal trophy on Twitter. Morikawa was sipping one of Muirfield Village’s signature chocolate milkshakes, too. “Well done, it’s not our last battle,” responded a respectful Thomas, who had spoken Saturday about how he expected to have Morikawa as a teammate on Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams in the not-too-distant future. The win was the second of Morikawa’s career, which not coincidentally gives him more victories than he has missed cuts and lifted him to sixth in the FedExCup. The steady 23-year-old, who closed with a 66, had a streak of 22 straight weekends played, second only to the great Tiger Woods, that ended at the Travelers Championship two weeks ago. Not to mention, Morikawa nearly won the Charles Schwab Challenge, the first PGA TOUR event played after the COVID-19 hiatus, five weeks ago. He was involved in a playoff there, too, but missed a 4-footer on the first extra hole to lose to Daniel Berger. Morikawa called Sunday’s win, which came on one of the TOUR’s most respected courses in Muirfield Village, “amazing.” And he’ll get a chance to make it an unusual two-in-a-row at Jack Nicklaus’ place this week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Morikawa made it clear on Sunday he wants to be known for more than consistency – not only by his words but by his actions. “This is a huge kind of stepping-stone,” he said. “We got No. 1 out of the way, we got No. 2, let the gates just open and let’s just keep going because obviously it was a tough loss at Colonial a month ago, but I learned a lot. I learned a lot from last week or a week and a half ago at Travelers after my missed cut. “This is just more positives, more learning for me, and I’ve got to go back to, okay, what did I do great, what did I do wrong this week, how can I get better, move on to next week and make a lot of birdies.” This time last year, Morikawa had his degree in business administration from the University of California-Berkeley in hand, but his post-graduate work was just beginning on the PGA TOUR. He earned his PGA TOUR card the hard way, gaining status as a special temporary member before winning his sixth start the Barracuda Championship, played opposite the World Golf Championships-FedEx Championship, to lock up job security for the next two years. Ironically, one of those helping him along the way was Thomas, who invited Morikawa to dinner the week he made his pro debut at the RBC Canadian Open. “He’s someone that has kind of helped me just get comfortable,” Morikawa said. “Props to him. He’s an awesome player, awesome dude, as well. “I wouldn’t say he’s like been there every practice round for me but making things easier and just telling me when we had that dinner just over a year ago, just telling me if you’re good enough, you’re going to get out here at some point. Everyone’s path is different. You don’t know how quick or how slow it’s going to get there, but if you’re good enough you’re going to get here.” Not only has Morikawa, who won a Korn Ferry Tour event as a freshman in college, gotten to the game’s highest level, he’s solidified his spot there. He’s nothing if not a fast learner, and more days like Sunday are only going to help. “It’s not a surprise,” he said honestly. “It’s just a lot of belief in myself that I could do this, and like I said, I go back to being comfortable. Comfortable, I think is the best word for a lot of these guys out here because they’ve been out here for many years. “They know the courses, they know where to hit it, and for me it’s getting as comfortable as I can as quickly as I can. I felt a lot more comfortable in this first hole playoff than I did in that last playoff at Colonial, but I still wouldn’t say I’m at where I felt perfectly fine. “By the second playoff hole today I felt very comfortable, and I knew let’s just play some golf.” And that’s what Morikawa does best.

Click here to read the full article…

Round 3 of the Wells Fargo Championship takes place Saturday from Quail Hollow. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes) Radio: Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Bryson DeChambeau/Shane Lowry (tee times) Justin Thomas/Ted Potter Jr. (tee times) MUST READS Rory McIlroy makes move at Wells Fargo Championship Gary Woodland, Matt Wallace, Patrick Rodgers share lead at Wells Fargo Championship Abraham Ancer, Carlos Ortiz tame windy Wells Fargo Phil Mickelson struggles to second-round 75 at Wells Fargo Championship Win probabilities: Wells Fargo Championship Keith Mitchell rebounds from bent putter fiasco A closer look at Bryson DeChambeau’s low-lofted fairway wood Insider: Inside Max Homa’s mind CALL OF THE DAY

Click here to read the full article…

The Breakfast Club in the morning, fans racing to the 16th hole. Concerts at night – including Snoop Dogg, who takes the stage Friday. In between? Plenty of exciting golf at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where fun is in abundance and trash is non-existent (six consecutive years of Zero Waste). Oh, and the loudest cheers will be for the local college grad who’s making his record 30th start in this event. THE FLYOVER  The closing stretch at TPC Scottsdale includes three holes with plenty of scoring opportunities — the 553-yard par-5 15th (just avoid the water on the left); the famed 163-yard 16th, the easiest par 3 on the course; and the drivable 332-yard par-4 17th, which yielded 10 eagles last year. Combined, those three holes play to a stroke average of 0.649 under par. Even the closing hole, the 442-yard 18th, is not particularly difficult, with a stroke average just a shade over par. LANDING ZONE  The most difficult hole at TPC Scottsdale is the 490-yard par-4 14th, which played to a stroke average of 4.178 last year. A pinched-in landing zone makes it the second toughest fairway to hit on the course, and finding the green in regulation is even tougher, ranking No. 1 in lowest greens in regulation on the course. A year ago, Charlie Beljan smashed a drive in the first round 398 yards – 44 yards longer than any drive in the final three rounds. He could still only manage par. Here’s a look at where all drives landed last year. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Wade Stettner: “Dry weather is forecast for the first round of the tournament on Thursday, but clouds will thicken up Thursday evening with rain chances possible between midnight and 6 a.m. Skies will clear out on Friday with another warm day expected. Afternoon temperatures on Friday will reach the lower 70s. A stronger front is forecast to arrive in Arizona this weekend with rain chances possible Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. The best chance for rain at this time appears to occur Saturday night with total rainfall between a quarter and half inch.â€� For the latest weather news from Scottsdale, Arizona, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK I think everybody appreciates what this tournament is and that is a special week, different than any other that we have on TOUR and guys that kind of embrace that and embrace this environment. BY THE NUMBERS 21 – Number of players inside the top 30 of the FedExCup standings who are in the field this week. That includes the top three of Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar (each a two-time winner this season) and defending champion Gary Woodland. 82 – Balls in the water at the par-5 15th last season. That was the second most of any hole on the PGA TOUR, exceeded only by the 15th at TPC River Highlands. 301.3 – Average driving distance at TPC Scottsdale last season, making it one of five courses on TOUR with a field average over 300 yards on all tee shots. -48 – Cumulative score under par by Jon Rahm in his three starts in the 2019 calendar year. He’s played all 12 of his rounds at par or better. SCATTERSHOTS  ASU reps: Among collegiate programs, Arizona State alumni led the PGA TOUR in FedExCup points last season. Several ex-Sun Devil players are in the field this week – Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Chez Reavie and Grayson Murray. In addition, former ASU golf coach Tim Mickelson is caddying for his brother. High-ranking wins: World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose won last week at Torrey Pines, continuing a trend of high-ranking winners on TOUR this season. Of the 12 winners thus far, eight have been inside the top 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking at the time of their win. Fast starter: In his first 12 starts at TPC Scottsdale, Bubba Watson has played each opening round under par. Since 2007, he has more opening rounds under par at the WMPO than any other player (Mickelson, Kevin Na and Brian Gay are next on the list at nine). Those 12 opening rounds under par are the most for Bubba than any other tournament. Watson’s best results are a couple of T-2s.

Click here to read the full article…