Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Finishes 6th at the Hero World Challenge

One week after being married, the 25-year-old wins $120,000 at the Bahamas event.

Collin Morikawa finished sixth at the Hero World Challenge at New Providence, Bahamas as Norwegian Viktor Hovland successfully defended his title.

Morikawa, the 25-year-old Cal grad who was playing for the first time as a married man, shot a final-round 2-under 70 and never made a dent on Hovland’s third-round lead.

Hovland shot a 3-under 69 on Sunday and finished at 16 under to win by two strokes over Scottie Scheffler. Cameron Young was third at 12 under, one stroke better than Xander Schauffele, and two strokes ahead of fifth-place finisher Justin Thomas.

Hovland clinched the win by sinking a 20-foot bogey putt on the 18th. He joins tournament host Tiger Woods as the only players to win back-to-back titles at the Hero World Challenge.

Morikawa wound up at 9 under for four days after rounds of 69-72-69-70. His Sunday performance included six birdies but also four bogeys.

A year ago, after successfully proposing to long-time girlfriend Katherine Zhu earlier in the week on the beach, Morikawa built a six-stroke lead through three rounds here, shooting 18 under over 54 holes.

But he faltered on Sunday, carding a 76 and allowing Hovland rally to win. The collapse cost Morikawa the chance to move into the No. 1 spot in the official world golf rankings.

There was no drama of that level on Sunday, although Hovland made it a little tougher on himself than he needed it to be. He seemingly took charge of the event by shooting an 8-under 64 on Saturday. He followed that with a 68 over the final 18 holes that included a 33 on the front nine.

But the bogey putt to clinch it made things a little wacky.

"It's frigging nerve-wracking," Hovland said, smiling. "You're never that comfortable. I didn't play that great on the back nine, but it was good enough."

His victory was worth $1 million. Morikawa pocketed $120,000.

Max Homa, a 32-year-old Cal grad coming off his best season on the tour in 2022, never was a contender this week. He shot even-par 72 on Sunday to finish in 17th place in the 20-player field at 4 over par and 20 strokes back of Hovland.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Jim Dedmon, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo