Workday Charity Open Recap: Collin Closes

Collin Morikawa doesn't hit the longest drives and statistically he's a pretty poor putter. But what he does do, perhaps better than anyone else in golf right now, is hit laser-like iron shot after laser-like iron shot. They are not glamorous the way humongous drives and long, twisting putts are. No, Morikawa's iron shots are more like a boxer's body blows, slowly taking their toll on opponents.

Morikawa wore down one of the best golfers in the world on Sunday, needing three playoff holes to topple Justin Thomas and win the Workday Charity Open on a heavyweight day of golf at Muirfield Village.

Truth be told, Morikawa, Thomas -- and early on, Viktor Hovland -- were not landing body blows so much as haymakers. All three held the lead at some point on Sunday. Eventually, Hovland fell back.

That left Morikawa and Thomas in a playoff that was about as action-packed as possible for three holes. It began with Thomas stunningly rolling in a 50-footer for birdie, only to see Morikawa drill a 24-footer to survive. Stones.

In the end, however, the day didn't get the finish it deserved, as Thomas' fairway metal off the 17th tee cruelly landed right behind a tree. He then witnessed a final Morikawa iron shot nestle inside of the 10 feet -- of course -- and that was pretty much that.

And so Morikawa, part of the PGA Tour for barely a year, won for the second time and has zoomed all the way to No. 13 in the world -- which, by the way, is one place ahead of, ahem, Tiger Woods. He now has, as Twitter was quick to report, more wins (2) than missed cuts (1).

Morikawa is 13th only because he hasn't been around all that long. Since his arrival, he's surely been among the top 10 players in the world, and maybe even the top five. He has two wins, two runners-up and a tie for fourth. Could he win a major this year? Yes, but ...

We would be remiss without saying that Morikawa's game still needs some work, that he would not have been in the position he was Sunday had he putted like he has for much of the season. He is ranked 150th in SG: Putting – and that's after a terrific week at Muirfield -- to go along with 122nd in SG around the green, 23rd in SG off the tee (108th in driving distance at 296 yards) and – drum roll, please – first in SG approach.

At the Workday, his strengths were still strong, but he also ranked 13th in SG putting – and first in putting average (putts per GIR). His putt on 17 was money and there was nothing bigger than that make-it-or-lose 24-footer. But still, he almost didn't get there because he coulda/shoulda missed a two-footer at the end of regulation. And remember, he missed a couple of late short ones at Colonial or we could be talking about his third win right now.
 
Still, the way things are going for Morikawa, it might not be long before we really are talking about his third win.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Justin Thomas
Thomas certainly is kicking himself for blowing a three-stroke lead with just three holes to go. So, for sure, Thomas should have won. But there are so many good golfers it's impossible to deliver every week. in 12 starts this season, Thomas has two wins, this runner-up, a third and eight top-10s among nine made cuts. He's back to No. 3 in the world. If the Player of the Year voting took place right now, he might win it.

Viktor Hovland
Hovland birdied 3-4-5 to grab a share of the lead, but that was the highlight of his day. Regardless, what he has done since the restart is remarkable. Simply playing five weeks in a row is hard, not to mention making five cuts, but he has five top-25s, with this solo third the best of the bunch. He'll now play a sixth straight week at the Memorial, up to No. 33 in the OWGR. 

Matthew Wolff
Since we're talking about the Class of '19 here, let's close the loop with Wolff. He hadn't had a top-10 in almost a year before his runner-up at Detroit a week ago. At the Workday, he went right back to his prior form, shooting 72-77 to miss the cut by a lot. Sure, he could have another good week soon, even this coming week. But the evidence right now suggests that he is far behind Morikawa and Hovland and his good weeks will be few and likely far between.

Chase Seiffert
The 28-year-old Florida State alum had played only six PGA Tour events before this season. He was on the Korn Ferry Tour last season and even played a KF event last month. In 14 PGA Tour events this season, Seiffert had never cracked the top-20. So needless to say, solo fourth is a life-altering moment for him. If you look at his stats, outside of scrambling they are not half bad. Top-70 in SG approach, top-35 in SG putting. That speaks to more good weeks ahead (though maybe not top-5 good).

Gary Woodland
Woodland tied for fifth to give him two top-10s in four events since the restart. At the Workday, he ranked fourth in driving distance and seventh in SG off the tee, offering serious validation that his huge recent weight loss was the right move for him.

Patrick Cantlay
After being an afterthought for three rounds, how much did that Sunday 65 raise his DraftKings price for this week?

Billy Horschel
Horschel tied for seventh, by far his best showing since the restart, having missed 2-of-3 cuts. He's had some good finishes this season, but some real clunkers, too. The trouble is with his iron game. Horschel has had some really good GIR years – third on Tour in 2014, fourth in 2018. But the past two years, not so much – 66th last season, 85th currently. Still, Horschel is No. 39 OWR – imagine where he'd be with better GIR numbers?

Jason Day
Five straight tournaments, no WDs, finally one good finish. Day notched just his second top-10 all season, and is set to play a sixth straight week at the Memorial. It will take more than one good week to reverse the downward trend. But it's a start. Day is still outside the top-50 at No. 58.

Kevin Streelman
It's not the same as shooting your age, but Streelman is close to OWGRing his age. The 41-year-old is up to No. 44 in the world after another top-10. He broke 70 only once all week, but when that one is an 8-under 64, matching the low round of the week, that works.

Russell Henley
It's been a tough three seasons for the three-time PGA Tour winner, and this season has been the toughest. Henley, who's only 31, tied for seventh, just his third top-25 in 14 starts. He's ranked 10th in SG approach, which of course is excellent, but he's a former top-10 putter now ranked in the 160s. At the Workday, Henley ranked second in GIR but still lost strokes putting.

Jordan Spieth
Okay, who are we all kidding here? Spieth is just not Spieth anymore. It's three years now. Coming off a T7 last year at Memorial (with a final-round 73, natch), the expectation from many was for a good week at the Workday. He missed the cut. He's been going backward since a tie for 10th at Colonial: T68-T54-MC. Like Wolff, he can have a good week at the Memorial, but then please don't say: Spieth is back.

Jerry Kelly
The 53-year-old Kelly flirted with a top-10 but wound up with a top-25 (T22). He actually had a top-25 as recently as two years ago at the Sony, and only four years ago was runner-up at the Travelers. It's fun to see and it's a nice story, but this doesn't really advance the argument that golfers are athletes.

Emiliano Grillo
Two weeks ago, Grillo had his best result in months (outside of the Puerto Rico Open). It wasn't great by any means, but a tie for 39th is in the eye of the beholder. And that shined a bit of a light on him coming into Muirfield Village, where he had had a good history. But the easier setup put more of a premium on putting, and that meant Grillo was dead in the water. He lost almost three shots to the field and naturally trunk-slammed. He's 214th in SG: Putting out of 217 on Tour. He'll give it another go at the Memorial this week, but how can you go anywhere near this guy?

Charles Howell III
If there was one thing you could usually count on with Howell, it was making the cut. For many years, he was among the leaders in events played. Over the seven seasons prior to this one, he made 188 starts and missed only 34 cuts – an average of just under five. At the Workday, Howell missed his fifth cut in only 15 starts. He had a great fall season, so he's in the 60s in the FedEx Cup standings. But has only one top-25 in 2020.

Scottie Scheffler
Back when golf was returning, we had no idea who would play well, who wouldn't, how guys would react and respond to the long break. Scheffler was going great before the stoppage but has not been good at all in the restart. He missed his third straight cut at the Workday, following a tie for 55th at Colonial. Is there any injury? We don't know. But he did WD from the RBC Heritage after being in the announced field, and he is 0-for-3 since then.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In the all-still-tested-positive grouping, Denny McCarthy won at even, two shots better than Dylan Frittelli and four better than Nick Watney. Thankfully for the Tour, none made the cut and therefore didn't have to go out as a single. The Tour has been making some great week-to-week adjustments in response to the pandemic. Amending this one, letting positive players compete, should be this week's adjustment. If they can't be around other golfers, they shouldn't be in the tournament.

STAY IN YOUR LANE

Tony Romo
Yes, a Tradition Unlike Any Other, it's our annual Tony Romo rant. If Romo wants to continue playing in celebrity golf tournaments, as he did in the American Century Championship over the weekend, he has no business participating in PGA Tour -- or even Korn Ferry Tour -- events. Pick a lane: If you're a celebrity, you ain't a pro; if you're a pro, you can't be beating up on celebrities. FWIW, Romo, the two-time defending champion, withdrew before the final round with a wrist injury. Former pro tennis player Mardy Fish won it. And, oh, how bad is Eddie George? He prevented Charles Barkley from yet another last-place finish.