It Was Phil Mickelson's Special Day at the PGA, But Collin Morikawa Closed Nicely

While Mickelson becomes the oldest winner in a major, Morikawa climbs to eighth place.

Phil Mickelson made history Sunday at the PGA Championship on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, but Collin Morikawa had a pretty good day, too.

While Mickelson became the oldest winner of a golf major, posting a two-stroke victory over runners-up Brooks Keopka and Louis Oosthuizen, defending champion Morikawa roared from 38th place to a nine-way tie for eighth.

Morikawa, who won last year at Harding Park in San Francisco, carded a four-under 68 on Sunday to finish the tournament at one-under 287.

Fellow former Cal golfer Byeong Hun-An also shot a 68, moving up 26 spots from 75th after the third round to a tie for 49th.

With his fifth top-10 finish this season, Morikawa pocketed a check for $263,000. That boosts his career earnings to $10,249,025 — not bad for a 24-year-old who turned pro less than 23 months ago.

Hun-An won $27,000.

Morikawa opened defense of his title from last summer by shooting a two-under 70 on Thursday, giving him a share of seventh place. He slipped to 26th place after a 75 on Friday and was out of title contention after a 74 on Saturday.

But he was dynamite on Sunday. Morikawa birdied the first three holes before making bogey on No. 4. Then he carded birdies on Nos. 9, 11 and 15 before settling for a bogey on the 17th.

Morikawa finished in a logjam with the likes of Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler and Tony Finau.

Morikawa's Sunday round started with the announcer butchering his hometown. FYI, Morikawa attended La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.

La Can——ya-duh. @collin_morikawa is only the defending @PGAChampionship champion… pic.twitter.com/ZQNBkIi6WG

— Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac) May 23, 2021

Mickelson, meanwhile, held off a field that included 99 of the top-100 players in the world to capture his second PGA title — his first since 2005. He shot six-under 282, two strokes better than Oosthuizen and Koepka.

At 50 years, 11 months, 7 days, Mickelson surpassed Julius Boros as the oldest winner of a golf major. Boros was 48 he won the 1968 PGA.

Mickelson, without a top-20 finish all year, was a 100-to-1 shot to win his sixth major championship. His champions' payout: $2,160,000.

“This is just an incredible feeling,” Mickelson said. “I just believed it was possible, yet everything was saying it wasn’t. I hope others find that inspiration.”

After a year where professional golfers played in front of few or no fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge throng watched history Sunday. As Mickelson walked to the 18th green to complete his round, he was nearly swallowed up by hundreds of cheering supporters.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience like that, so thank you for that,” Mickelson said. “Slightly unnerving, but exceptionally awesome.”

Mickelson shot a one-over 73 in the final round, with five birdies and six bogeys. But he never seemed threatened Sunday, especially after Oosthuizen made double-bogey on 13 and Koepka had bogeys on 10, 11 and 13.

Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry, Harry Higgs and Paul Casey finished in a four-way tie for fourth place at minus-2, one stroke better than Morikawa and his pack.

Pre-tournament favorite Rory McIlroy finished in a tie for 49th place after failing to break par in any of four rounds.

Many of the world’s elite golfers didn’t even survive the competition — and the sometimes high winds — to get to the weekend. Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele, all ranked among the top-5, failed to make the cut.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Geoff Burke, USA Today

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