Collin Morikawa wins the Open Championship by 2 strokes over Jordan Spieth to claim his second career major.
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NAPA, Calif. – The Fortinet Championship marks the beginning of a new season and, for 26 rookies and other Korn Ferry Tour graduates, the start or restart of a PGA TOUR career. For Phil Mickelson, 51, it’s more like the culmination of a wild 2021 season, and he’s looking forward to taking three months off to process it all. Well, the PGA Championship victory, mostly. Other than that, his season was a reminder that he’s in the September of his years. Until now, which happens to be, ahem, September. Mickelson strung together five straight back-nine birdies to reach 10 under par and with a very real shot at the Fortinet trophy going into Sunday. He is just four behind surprising Jim Knous (65) and Stanford product Maverick McNealy (70), with just eight players ahead of him. “I’m in a position where a good round tomorrow will do some good,” Mickelson said after making 123 feet, 8 inches of putts with his new grip extension and arm-lock putting method. “And it’s fun to have a little later tee time and to feel some of the nerves and so forth. I know I’m going to have to shoot probably 7, 8, 9 under par to have a chance, but either way it’s fun having that chance.” That was before the wind picked up in the afternoon, and the leaders stalled. The distance he might have anticipated between himself and the leaders never really materialized. “I’ll have to be a little bit more precise,” he said after hitting just five of 14 fairways. Mickelson’s 2-wood broke Friday, but he travels with backups and simply popped on a new head. Whatever happens Sunday, he will stay busy. Although the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits will mark the first U.S. Ryder or Presidents Cup side he hasn’t made as a player since 1993, he will still be there as a vice-captain to Steve Stricker. He plans to fly from Napa to San Diego after the final round, spend a night in his own bed, then depart with wife Amy for Wisconsin. While Mickelson will be chasing his 46th TOUR win Sunday, the eight guys ahead of him on the leaderboard have seven victories combined. Scott Stallings (67) leads the way with three, while Max Homa (65) and Troy Merritt (69) have two apiece. All are at 12 under, two back. Co-leaders Knous and McNealy are each seeking their breakthrough TOUR win, and only one of them is a surprise atop the board. McNealy, 25, racked up 11 victories at Stanford, just 60 miles south of here, and has made the BMW Championship in each of his first two TOUR seasons. A win Sunday would be a very natural next step in his progression, and it would be hard to find a more fitting place to do it. McNealy grew up in the Bay Area, got sponsor exemptions into the Fortinet as an amateur, and had his parents, uncle and friends cheering him on Saturday. “It’s one of the places on TOUR where I don’t feel like as much of a rookie,” he said, “and it’s going back to the Bay Area roots. Something about the air here, I feel really comfortable, and the grass and the conditions and it’s a lot of fun having people rooting for you.” As for Jim “Hard K” Knous – his real nickname, by the way – well, no one saw him coming. He made just five cuts in 18 Korn Ferry Tour starts last season and got into the Fortinet field on a major medical extension due to a wrist injury. Knous, who finished 25th in the 2018 KFT Finals to earn his TOUR card, has this and one more start to fulfill the terms of his extension. A two-way tie for third or better Sunday would give him enough points to equal the 125th player in the 2018-19 FedExCup standings, while a solo 12th or better would give him conditional status on TOUR and full Korn Ferry Tour status, allowing him to skip the upcoming Q school. “Do your best,” he said his wife told him. “Let God do the rest.” So far, it seems to be working. Two days after world No. 1 Jon Rahm missed the cut, Hard K is playing to dramatically alter the trajectory of his career. “Yeah, nothing to lose really for me,” he said. “I can go out there and play free and hit the shots that I know I can hit, try to go win the tournament. I know it sounds like a lot, but I’m going to play like that because that’s when I play my best golf, when I make full committed swings.” With so much inexperience at the top; 18 players within four of the lead; and Mickelson, Webb Simpson (65), and newly minted Rookie of the Year Will Zalatoris (71) lurking, the stage is set.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Each day at U.S. Open, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Brooks Koepka went back-to-back for just the seventh time in U.S. Open history. Just how significant is that? Ben Everill, Staff Writer: It’s pretty impressive if you ask me. Especially as it came on two completely different styles of course. Erin Hills was a birdie fest for the bombers. Shinnecock Hills was a grind for everyone. I’ve just heard Koepka is lobbying for Pebble Beach to be renamed Pebble “Hillsâ€� for next year. Sean Martin, Events Editor: It’s historic. Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange and now Koepka are the only men to do it since World War II. And, in contemporary terms, only four of the top 50 players in the world have multiple majors. And he’s only 28. Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: Very. A lot of guys would shrink from that sort of weighty history. I loved his swagger, and he totally backed it up. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: In terms of golf history, I think it’s very significant. Winning a major isn’t easy; going back-to-back at the U.S. Open by the age of 28 is even more impressive. Not only that, he managed to show his entire arsenal by going low to win at Erin Hills and grinding it out at Shinnecock. His game clearly travels. Brooks is now a multiple major winner… what are you expecting from him over the next 5-10 years? Everill: Given his outstanding finishes in major championships over the last couple of years – he has been top 25 in 13 of his last 15 majors and top 10 in seven of those – I certainly can’t rule out further victories. He’s only 28 and an absolute specimen of an athlete. If he doubles his total in the next five years I won’t be shocked. Martin: Predictions are a fool’s errand, so here we go. As long as he can stay healthy, I think he can pick up two more majors in the next decade. He has finished no worse than T21 in his past 11 majors. He gives himself lots of opportunities in the big events. I see a FedExCup in his future for that very reason. Morfit: Trophies. It’s odd to me that he hasn’t racked up more Ws, but he’s only 28 and spent a good chunk of his career in Europe. I think he’s got a game that can travel anywhere, and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, was telling me he’s long been one of the best putters on TOUR.  Wall: He’s now finished inside the top 25 in 13 of his last 15 major championships. If he continues to produce competitive finishes at a similar clip, he’ll likely get at least two more over the next 5-10 years. I don’t think it’s that far of a stretch to say he gets to five or six if a few breaks go his way. At this point, the only thing holding him back is his health. Tommy Fleetwood’s round was just the sixth 63 in U.S. Open history. Where do his efforts rank in your mind? Everill: Of course people will say the USGA reacted to Saturday’s criticism by watering the greens too much and providing easy pins but regardless, shooting 63 on a Sunday at a major is epic stuff. Fleetwood is the real deal. Had he read his putt on the last hole just a little better we could have easily seen our first two-hole playoff. Fourth last year, second this year … watch this space. Martin: I think he’s kicking himself for missing that last birdie putt. I think the back-nine pressure on Koepka would have been exponentially higher if he’d posted a 62. It’s reminiscent of 1986, when Chip Beck missed a 5-footer on the 72nd hole. He finished two back but thought he would’ve exerted much more pressure on the last groups if he was one stroke closer while sitting in the clubhouse. Morfit: It could’ve been a 61 even, given his chances on the last three holes. I like everything about this guy but especially his demeanor. Wall: Shooting 63 at Shinnecock Hills is incredibly impressive and has to go down as one of the best rounds in major championship history based on what was at stake Sunday. That being said, the USGA made the course more gettable after Saturday’s fiasco. It’s a minor footnote that likely won’t be mentioned when people remember Fleetwood’s impressive round. Tony Finau has finished in the top-10 of both majors this year. Will he break through at some point? Everill: He certainly has the talent. Finau himself says he is built for championship golf. I’d like to see him get his second PGA TOUR win before I am ready to endorse him as a likely major winner of the near future though. He’s a champion guy so you can’t help but wish him success. Wall: Similar to Brooks Koepka, he’s a twenty-something bomber who could break out at any given moment. I don’t think it’s a matter of if but when Finau gets a major. I think it happens in the next three years. Martin: Majors are tough to win. Besides the strong field and tough conditions, it’s a numbers game. There’s only four of them per year. I was impressed with how he handled himself in the final group, though. He battled on the back nine to stay in contention. Morfit: Absolutely he will. Major talent. Insanely long. Really hard worker. That’s a good combination. Dustin Johnson let another 54-hole lead go. Is this of any concern going forward? Everill: The numbers don’t read well. 0-3 when leading/co leading through 54 holes in a major … Only four wins in his last 10 attempts on TOUR with 54 hole leads … BUT I don’t think it is a concern. DJ doesn’t seem to let much worry him and it was a simple case of his putter going cold on the weekend. He hit the greens Sunday but just couldn’t buy a putt. Martin: I do think there’s something there. He lost a six-shot lead earlier this season at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. It’s also interesting that his only major victory came at a tournament where he didn’t know his score because of the controversial ruling. Wall: No way. The course bordered on unfair during the third round, turning even the best players in the world into 10 handicaps. If DJ gets course conditions anywhere close to what we saw on Sunday, I think he wins by two or three. He just ran into a USGA buzzsaw that torpedoed his chances. Morfit: Nah. He’s so good he just waits for the next one. And there’s always a next one.
Golf is back. The schedule is condensed. There are three majors still on the table. So who is ready to pick up where they left off, shake off the rust or make a big move? Our panel broke it down.
