Collin Morikawa shoots 66 to win Dubai and become first American to finish No.1 on European Tour

It was a complete comeback for world No. 2 golfer, Collin Morikawa, on Sunday in Dubai. Morikawa won the DP World Tour championship by taking down 6 under 66 in the final round, and thereby became the first American to win the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai.

Morikawa, who leads the Race to Dubai coming up for the week and was almost guaranteed a win on Sunday but something dire, closed as we are used to with his closing. .

The tedious start to the front nine on the final round continued no less than close to Round 3. Morikawa made only one birdie in 23 holes spanning the middle of Round 3 to the middle of Round 4, but he did. is now five of his last seven holes to shoot 31 of the second nine holes on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. It was enough to beat Matt Fitzpatrick and Alexander Bjork by three points each.

Rick Gehman and Kyle Porter break down and react to Collin Morikawa’s Race to Victory in Dubai and Rory McIlroy’s Frustrating Sunday. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

“Starting with six parsings, especially with some bird-shaped holes, isn’t exciting,” says Morikawa. “I feel like I hit some good shots and I didn’t get the rest I needed. The shot didn’t drop and I just tell myself when I look at the scoreboard after nine hours that I’m still there and I was still two or three times back at the time and I just needed a spark.”

He became short-tempered late and started to put in force as the winning time passed. It reminds me His words after the Open Championship about how he knows he’s not a great hitter but he also believes he’s a good hitter in high-pressure situations. Morikawa finished in the top 15 for strokes for the week and has been his go-to batting robot all this time.

Despite finding sparks in the second season nine, Morikawa was actually tied to Rory McIlroy with just a few holes to go, and it looks like it will come down to the end between those two. However, Morikawa put it on the floor and landed a long birdie at 17 and had an easy birdie at number 18 while McIlroy played four of the last three and faded to draw at number 18. sixth position. After that, it seems that he was quite unhappy with that result.

It was a test of endurance for Morikawa, who played well for the first two days with a 68s return but then stalled a bit at the end of Round 3 with 12 consecutive pars to end his round. in a course where you have to train hard for a week in a row to win a trophy. On Sunday, he also did what he did in his two big wins. He came in from the back with a goal in the mid-60s and left the rest of the pitch in shambles. In his five stroke wins, Morikawa scored 66-64-69-66-66 in the final round. That’s an average of 66.2 points.

The list of players who have won the Race to Dubai (the FedEx Cup’s version of the European Tournament) is very important and includes nearly all the major European League players globally in one section. century ago. Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Collin Montgomerie, Ernie Els and McIlroy are all on the list, but Morikawa is the first American.

“It’s special, it’s an honor to be the first American to do it on a European Tour to put my name in front of so many Halls of Fame, it’s special,” Morikawa said. “I get emotional just talking about it.

“Like I said, two years ago, that wasn’t my mindset. It was ‘Yeah, let’s go play around the world’, but we didn’t know what cards would be dealt. To have a chance. this festival and it’s finally over, and not just to end up with the top 10 or something, but to actually win the DP World Tour Championship, the tournament that ends with the Race to Dubai, not the way better to finish.”

The main reason Morikawa, who is not competing on the European Tour schedule, is leading this week’s Race to Dubai is because the titles he has won earlier in the year count towards the European point race. Europe. The WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession and of course the Open Championship.

Morikawa has now played 60 events as a pro and has six overall wins, four runner-ups, 24 top-10s, two pro, $18.5 million, just five dropouts missed, and oh yeah, he finished 3-0-1 at this year’s Ryder Cup. Rewind 30 months, and he’s still an amateur. Now? He had a famous career.

“Yeah, look, my head is so messed up, I’m always looking for what’s next, but I’ll try to enjoy this one,” Morikawa said. “This event is special; it’s the end of the year. I have one more event, but I’ll try to enjoy it as much as I can.”

It’s been a year that looks like it could be repeated with one of the most repetitive moves in the sport, but Morikawa has revealed his wisdom in it. He knows that past history is not a reliable predictor of future success. And while he could go on to have 60 more of these tournaments in his career, to build a resume like this in 30 months is almost unmatched and certainly deserves the credit.