Collin Morikawa's Sunday Rally Halted at U.S. Open, Extending His Victory Drought

Collin Morikawa briefly climbed to a tie for fifth place during Sunday’s final round of the 123rd U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club but that was just a tease. His realistic hopes of winning a third golf major were dashed days before.

Although always a threat, the 26-year-old Cal grad has not delivered a victory in nearly two years. Sunday marked the 43rd consecutive tournament he has failed to win, dating back to capturing the British Open 23 on July 18, 2021.

He is 0-for-7 in majors since then.

Morikawa began the final round at 1 under par, tied for 15th place and nine strokes back of co-leaders Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler.

He strung together birdies on Nos. 6, 8, 9 and 10, climbing to a tie for fifth but still five strokes back with eight holes to play. That was as close as got before bogeys on 11, 14 and 17 left Morikawa with a 1-under 69 for the third day in a row. His wound up at minus-2 for the tournament and pretty much where he was when the day began, tied for 14th.

Morikawa earned $332,343 for his efforts.

Clark, a 29-year-old University of Oregon product who entered the week ranked No. 32 in the world, won his first U.S. Open after a final round 70. He took home $3.6 million after finishing at 10 under, one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy. Fowler finished in a tie for fifth after shooting a 75 on Sunday.

Back in the summer of 2021, Morikawa shot 15 under par at Royal St. George’s Golf Course to add a second major triumph to the PGA Championship he won in 2020 at the age of 23, barely a year after turning pros. Two weeks after winning the British, he scored 15 under again to barely miss winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

After helping the U.S. win the Ryder Cup in September 2021, Morikawa assembled five straight tournament finishes of seventh place or better. Twice he was runnerup.

But one of those five events jumps out as a turning point in the current arc of his career.

On Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, Morikawa stepped to the first tee for the final round of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas equipped with a five-stroke lead. Through 54 holes, he was brilliant, with 18 birdies and two eagles.

With a victory, Morikawa would have climbed from No. 2 in the official world rankings to No. 1, becoming the second-fastest (behind Tiger Woods) to get there.

Within seven holes Morikawa’s lead was gone. He finished with a 76 the day after he shot a 64 and wound up in a tie for fifth place. He never got to No. 1.

Morikawa was ranked 18th entering Sunday’s final round.

It’s not like Morikawa hasn’t been competitive. He has five top-10 finishes this season, including a tie for 10th at the Masters in April. He was second at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, shooting 25 under par.

Two weeks ago he was minus-4 through three rounds and positioned to compete with the leaders on Sunday when he developed back spasms while warming up and had to withdraw.

Mostly, Morikawa has been plagued by inconsistency, even within a single round. While many of the world’s top players were tearing up the course on Thursday and Friday, Morikawa had eight bogeys and needed a run of three straight birdies to avoid being cut.

Then there was Sunday’s hot-and-cold performance — minus-4 over the first 10 holes, plus-3 over the final eight.

Since winning the Open in 2021, Morikawa is 0-for-7 in majors, finishing fifth at the 2022 Masters, tied for 55th at the ’22 PGA, tied for fifth at the ’22 U.S. Open, missing the cut at the ’22 British Open, tied for 10th at the 2023 Masters and tied for 26th at the ’23 PGA before this weekend

Next up on the schedule is the Travelers Championship, a $20 million event at Cromwell, CT, beginning Thursday. The next major is the British Open, July 20-23 at Royal Liverpool Golf Course.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Aaron Doster, USA Today

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

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