Birthday girl Henderson happy with solid start at ANA Inspiration

TULSA, Okla. – Count Rory McIlroy among the interested consumers of the copious preview content that precedes every major championship. McIlroy had never played Southern Hills before this week, not that a previous appearance would have helped much. The course underwent a dramatic renovation by Gil Hanse since it last hosted a professional tournament. To get ready for this week, McIlroy watched flyover videos from online outlets like Golf Digest and The Fried Egg to get a feel for the course. He went so far as seeking highlights from last year’s Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills. “Just did a little bit of digging online, and it sort of seemed pretty apparent that this is an approach shot and short game — like iron play and chipping is going to be really important this week,” said McIlroy, who also shared the videos with his caddie, Harry Diamond. What once was a traditional major test, with thick Bermudagrass rough lining narrow fairways and greens, has been reimagined. The fairways have been widened and short grass is more prevalent around the greens. The new design fits modern trends while also harkening back to the Golden Age of course architecture. After playing practice rounds, McIlroy did say that the course seems wider than it appeared on video and that, despite the plethora of short grass around the greens, putting from off the green is often not an option, requiring players to execute touchy chip shots from tight lies to a putting surface that sits above them. “I think he’s done a wonderful job with it,” McIlroy said about Hanse. “Love the green complexes. I love that he gives you options off the tee. “I think you’re going to see a lot of different strategies this week, guys hitting driver where maybe other guys aren’t and vice versa. It’s a really good track. I really enjoyed playing it yesterday, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful test this week.”

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SAN FRANCISCO – When it mattered most, being short proved a great advantage for Collin Morikawa. This is not about his diminutive stature but rather his length off the tee. TPC Harding Park was a bombers’ paradise until the critical moment of the PGA Championship on Sunday. When Morikawa reached the short par-4 16th. RELATED: Final leaderboard | The clubs Morikawa used to win | So close but so far for Koepka, Casey, others At 294-yards on Sunday the hole was inviting players to have a crack, particularly as nine of them had been part of the lead during a frantic final round. Someone had to step up. Problem was, in these modern times of big hitters, for most of them, 294 yards is too short to wail away with driver. Bryson DeChambeau hits his drives over 350 yards, so to Tony Finau. Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ … the list of long hitters in contention was long. But they’d have to take 3-wood, or try to take something off their longest club, finesse the ball in the soupy heavy air. Morikawa had the perfect number for his driver. The same driver that had helped him to lead the field in driving accuracy for the week. Funny thing is, pre-tournament he was certain he wouldn’t be going for that green at all. “I told Colt Knost, he saw me Wednesday afternoon practicing on there, and he asked me if I was ever going to go for it. I told him a quick no, it’s too much into the wind, why go for it. I didn’t think the pin was going to be where it was,” Morikawa said. But with the tee up and pin sitting in the middle where a ball rolling up onto the green would feed towards it was just too tempting. Particularly given just a few weeks back, at the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, he’d had similar success when the 14th hole was played from a similar distance. Morikawa decided to go for it. And the rest will live in golf history forever more. His ball landed perfectly and rolled up to seven feet. Soon after Morikawa buried the eagle putt and took a commanding lead he would not relinquish. At just 23 he is a major champion. A three time PGA TOUR winner already in just 29 starts. He has more wins than missed cuts. “Those are moments I’m always going to remember. I want to say it was 278 front, 294 hole. My ball went 291, exactly how I played it. It just had to be a normal driver for me. I didn’t have to do anything special. Thankfully I don’t hit it 330,” he grinned. The only downside was only a small smattering of people were there to see it live thanks to these COVID-19 times. It was a shot that deserved a roar to rival anything Tiger Woods heard in his prime. And he would have received it. After all he’s a California kid who went to college at Cal Berkeley. They would have been going berserk. “This is the one time I really wish there were crowds right there,” Morikawa said. “I heard some claps. Obviously not a ton. But the claps could mean I’m on the green and I’ve got 50 feet. Walking up I knew it was right above the tier, and you had to make it. I had to make that putt. Two strokes is a lot different than one stroke coming down 18.” Indeed it was. It was in the end unassailable for anyone else. And it secured history. At age 23 years, 6 months, 3 days, he becomes the third-youngest PGA Championship winner since World War II, behind only Rory McIlroy and Jack Nicklaus. Woods won a PGA at 23 also. “It’s great company. It’s been crazy, because this entire start of my professional career, I see all the things comparing to Tiger … but Tiger is on a completely different level. I think we all know that,” Morikawa gushes. “But any time you’re in the conversation of the greats, Jack, Rory, Tiger, no matter who it is, if you’re in that conversation, you’re doing something well.” He is also just the third player since 1970 to win a major in two or fewer major starts after his U.S. Open appearance last year and is just the ninth player to win the PGA Championship in their tournament debut. His weekend rounds of 65-64 for 129 sets the lowest closing 36-hole score in PGA Championship history, beating Woods 130 from 2018 and the 64 ties the PGA Championship record for lowest final-round score by a winner with Steve Elkington (1995). The win sent Morikawa to second in the FedExCup standings and fifth in the world rankings. While the golf world continues to be a little taken aback by the quick success, it’s not a surprise to the man himself. “I’ve believed in myself since day one. I haven’t let up from that,” he said. “When I woke up today, I was like, this is meant to be. This is where I feel very comfortable. This is where I want to be, and I’m not scared from it. I think if I was scared from it, the last few holes would have been a little different.” Morikawa was an amateur standout so his confidence is not misplaced. Clearly he has the game to back up any bravado he brings to the course. It’s not arrogance, it’s just pure will to win. And with the FedExCup Playoffs upcoming and another six majors and a PLAYERS among tournaments in the next 11 months he is ready to continue his rise. “It doesn’t stop here. I’ve got a very good taste of what this is like, what a major championship is like,” he said. “The majors are going to be circled in, just like everyone else, but I’ve got to focus on every single week. I’m trying to win every single week. I’m not trying to come out and just win the majors. I’m 23. This is my first full year. “I love golf. I love every part of it. I love being in this position and I love just being able to come out here and play with a bunch of guys that love the sport, too.” The sport loves him back. And will for a long time to come.

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• COURSE: Liberty National Golf Club, 7,328 yards, par 71. Built on the site of a former Hudson River landfill, the 2006 Tom Kite/Bob Cupp creation mixes spectacular views of the New York City skyline and Statue of Liberty with tricky crosswinds and demanding greens. It didn’t take long to attract the PGA TOUR, which lined up Liberty National for FedExCup Playoffs opener in 2009 and again in ‘13. The club was in line to stage THE NORTHERN TRUST this year, too, until being named as host for the Presidents Cup. Liberty National cost a reported $250 million to build, much going to site cleanup but including such amenities as a heliport, yacht services and cart paths of stone imported from Belgium. • SERIES: United States: 9 wins. International: 1 win. 1 tie.   • CHARITY: Net revenues are divided into equal shares that players and captains designate for charities or golf-related projects of their choice. The first 11 Presidents Cups generated more than $38 million in giving worldwide, impacting more than 450 outlets in 35 states and 15 nations. • U.S. ROSTER: Daniel Berger (1st Presidents Cup), Kevin Chappell (1st), Rickie Fowler (2nd), Charley Hoffman (1st), Dustin Johnson (3rd), Kevin Kisner (1st), Brooks Koepka (1st), Matt Kuchar (4th), Phil Mickelson (12th), Patrick Reed (2nd), Jordan Spieth (3rd), Justin Thomas (1st). Captain: Steve Stricker. • INTERNATIONAL ROSTER: Jason Day, Australia (4th Presidents Cup); Branden Grace, South Africa (3rd); Emiliano Grillo, Argentina (1st); Adam Hadwin, Canada (1st); Si Woo Kim, South Korea (1st); Anirban Lahiri, India (2nd); Marc Leishman, Australia (3rd); Hideki Matsyama, Japan (3rd); Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa (3rd); Charl Schwartzel, South Africa (4th); Adam Scott, Australia (8th); Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela (1st). Captain: Nick Price, Zimbabwe. • TWO YEARS AGO: Bill Haas, named a captain’s pick by his father Jay, capped a seesaw Sunday with the winning point over home favorite Sangmoon Bae in a 15.5  to 14.5 triumph in South Korea. Team USA took a one-point lead into the final day and grabbed eight early leads in singles, but the Internationals turned several matches to raise the tension in the final hour. Chris Kirk’s poor chip at No. 18 left Lahiri with a chance to snatch the cup, facing a 5-foot birdie try. But Kirk drained a 16-foot birdie and Lahiri missed his attempt, giving Kirk the point instead. That left it to Haas vs. Bae, which also went to No. 18 with a chance at a halve that would leave the competition tied. But Bae, playing his last competitive golf before two years of mandatory military service, chunked a pitch shot from short of the green that ceded the match to Haas. Grace was 5-0 for the Internationals, teaming with Oosthuizen to sweep both foursomes and four-balls. • STORYLINES: Spieth, Thomas and Johnson, who arrived at the TOUR Championship 1-2-3 in the FedExCup standings, form the cornerstones of a deep U.S. lineup. That trio has amassed 12 wins in 2016-17, including two major titles. … By contrast, the International squad has combined for eight victories, with Matsuyama winning three times and Leishman twice. … It’s a banner year for first-time participants, with 10 players in all making their Presidents Cup debuts. Thomas is among six on the U.S. roster, though Koepka did compete at last year’s Ryder Cup. Kim, who won THE PLAYERS in May, heads a list of four International rookies. … A format change that helped produce the Sunday drama in Korea will remain in play this week. Each four-ball and foursomes session was reduced by one, now five on Thursday and Friday and four each in Saturday’s doubleheader. • SHORT CHIPS: Mickelson’s next match win will be his 24th, drawing him alongside Woods for the all-time U.S. lead. The only man to play in all 12 editions was named as a captain’s pick for the second time. … Tiger Woods will be one of Stricker’s assistants at Liberty National, having served similarly under Davis Love III at last year’s Ryder Cup. It’ll be Woods’ first golf-related appearance since his latest back surgery in April. • TELEVISION: Thursday, 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Friday, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (GC). Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, noon-6 p.m. (NBC). • PGA TOUR LIVE: None. • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, noon-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM).

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