– Collin Morikawa (-22) has won again almost two and a half years after his victory at the 2023 ZOZO Championship. Too long, indeed, considering what his profile suggested in the early years of such a successful career. But here he is, back. And he hasn’t chosen just any tournament or any circumstances to return to the winning path. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the first Signature Event of the season on the PGA Tour, and this triumph by the Californian of Japanese descent places him back in the running for the big events, the majors to be more precise. Sunday at Pebble, moreover, was anything but gentle, so his final card of 67 strokes, following the stellar 62 on Saturday, is more than a statement of intent. It’s true that the announced hell wasn’t quite so. Cold, yes. A few drops, too. And wind, enough to seriously challenge the players, especially on certain holes. But hell, as such, it was not. The ultimate proof is that the average score recorded in this fourth round was by far the highest of the week, but still below seventy strokes.
– Morikawa won by showcasing to the fullest the quality that made him most famous: those second shots, those long and mid-irons guided with precision… He was also among the best with the driver in hand, one of the most reliable, and to top it off, his putter wasn’t a burden, and even shone at times. Today, for instance, he sank a nine-metre putt on the 15th hole, vital in the final sprint… Morikawa, today, wasn’t weighed down by the long journey through the desert; rather, he demonstrated a clarity and composure typical of the best: he missed the tee shot on the windy 17th at Pebble, a par 3, the scene of so many disasters, hitting a 4-iron that sent the ball directly to the left, but the ensuing bogey was followed by a textbook birdie on the 18th without any hesitation to surpass the -21 that Min Woo Lee had already set.
– By the way, since we’re talking about the Australian: sometimes it seems unbelievable he hasn’t yet reached the top 20 in the world, but it’s obvious that his electric game (today, 65 strokes) still lacks the precise dose of consistency.
– The spotlight should always be on the winner, of course. And on the penultimate of the contenders, Min Woo Lee, who was waiting on the practice field to see how Morikawa finished. But the formidable comeback by Scottie Scheffler (-20), the long ride of the Texan, filled with eagles (up to three in this final round, a true monstrosity, even though the announced hell of Pebble wasn’t quite so) deserves more than just a passing comment. Scottie is already writing paragraphs, entire pages, in the book of his particular legend without even needing to claim victory…
– Well, well with the World Number One. On Saturday, after handing in his card and being eight strokes behind the leader, he still hadn’t given up. Maybe he said it just to say it, so as not to be the one to close the door on himself, but the fact is that today he put on a crazy show. Today it seemed he truly believed in the comeback. After eleven holes, he was already eight under for the day and had moved to within a single stroke of the lead. And after playing the last par 5 of the course, the 14th hole, and making a birdie, he was tied for the lead… An earlier bogey on the 12th, and another later on the 15th, eventually took him out of the equation, but let’s wholeheartedly believe what this man pointed out just after closing the round with an eagle on the 18th, after hitting a fabulous second shot and leaving himself a putt of just over half a metre: Scheffler explained that after making birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, he did the math and considered he would need to reach -21 or -22 to win (look, he wasn’t wrong), which led him to take a bit more risk in search of the flags (on the 15th, he got the bogey hitting a wedge from the centre of the fairway).
– In the end, it couldn’t be. But it’s still wonderful to piece together like a Meccano the series of his last eight tournaments, starting with his victory at the Open, not counting the Hero World Challenge and of course already adding this fourth place he finally took at Pebble, since Sepp Straka (-21) also slipped past him at the last moment with a great eagle on the 18th. Here goes that series: 1st, 3rd, 1st, 4th, 1st, 1st, 3rd, and 4th. Do the scents of Cypress reach you?
– Scheffler signed the best card of the day this Sunday (63: But the second-best went to a Rory McIlroy (64), who came from nowhere and also made a final spot in the top ten. That’s also called pride. Honour and glory to the World Numbers 1 and 2.
