Monday qualifiers: Rocket Mortgage Classic

Players have plenty to do to prepare for a PGA TOUR event. From practice rounds to driving-range drills and optimizing equipment, the early days at each event are a busy time for players. Now they’ll have one less thing to do before teeing off Thursday. Asymptomatic, pre-tournament testing for COVID-19 will be discontinued at the 3M Open, which will be played July 22-25 in Blaine, Minnesota. On-site testing will still be available for symptomatic individuals, and the TOUR may still conduct periodic testing of all constituents. Limited “Inside the Bubble” access and the existing autograph policy will stay in place through the TOUR Championship.

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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.

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Tiger Woods’ only concern on the golf course used to be crushing his competition and chasing records. That has changed in recent years, as the golf course has also been a venue for him to play the role of a doting father helping his son chase his dreams. In their first interview together, Tiger and son Charlie discussed their mutual love of golf and 13-year-old Charlie assessed his own game while dishing on his father’s abilities as a caddie. The two will team Dec. 17-18 to compete in their third consecutive PNC Championship at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. Tiger and Charlie finished second last year with a charge that would have made the patriarch proud, making a record 11 consecutive birdies while both wearing Tiger’s trademark red and black. “I just want him to enjoy whatever he’s doing,” Tiger said of Charlie at the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship. Highlights from the tournament were broadcast Wednesday on Golf Channel. Begay, Woods’ former Stanford teammate, conducted an interview with the Woods duo. “I’m supporting him wherever he wants to go, and obviously providing opportunities for that direction. As a parent our job and responsibility is to provide opportunity and support. It’s been fun that he’s taken a passion to something that I’ve enjoyed.” Charlie shot a career-best 68 in late September to qualify for the 54-hole championship at Koasati Pines at Coushatta in Kinder, La. He shot 72-69-71 for a 1-under 211 total to finish 11th in the 12-13 age division, making 13 birdies and an eagle during the three days. (The 2023 schedule for Begay’s junior tour can be found here.) “The biggest thing was just clean up the big numbers,” Charlie said of his performance. “That’s the main thing. Get the misses tighter, practice more. Just have fun.” While Charlie had no problem critiquing his own game – he later sounded like Tiger when he said he needs to continue to “work on feels” – he was asked to sum up his father’s performance as his caddie during the championship. “He forgot my putter a few times,” Charlie said. “That’s really it.” Said Tiger: “It’s hard to describe, because it’s so amazing to be able to be with Charlie out there and fight through it together and do it as a team. Just the fact that he earned his way into the event by shooting the lowest round he’s ever shot. To go out there and play the way he did. Obviously, lots of lessons learned but I think overall the big picture is he thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun for both of us.” When it was over, Tiger looked at his son and said, “proud of you buddy.” Last week Tiger hosted the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. He withdrew early in the week because of plantar fasciitis in his foot but stayed at Albany to fulfil his myriad duties as host. He appeared in NBC’s television booth and talked more about how he’s preparing his son for the mental grind that golf provides. It’s little surprise that Tiger is using similar tactics that his father Earl used on him more than 30 years ago. “If I can get into his head, that means someone else can get into his head,” Tiger said. “It’s going to get to a point where I can’t get into his head, and then no one else can get in there either.” Later in the week, Tiger said that Charlie has yet to beat him but did sheepishly admit Charlie drove it past him on one occasion. Barely. He also said that he has never told his son to copy his own swing, but rather should strive to swing the club like one of their South Florida neighbors. “Don’t copy my swing. Copy Rory’s,” Tiger said Saturday. “Have you ever seen Rory off balance on a shot? No. Not ever.”

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