Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas remind fans of what sports can be

Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas staged a memorable duel at Muirfield Village.

Imagine the roars that would’ve reverberated around Muirfield Village on Sunday. The delirium that a head-to-head duel between two of golf’s brightest young stars, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas, would’ve generated from a large gallery surrounding the 18th green. But only subdued silence awaited the two players, even after the most exciting finish during the PGA Tour’s return to play.

The conclusion to the Workday Charity Open was a reminder of what golf is missing right now. The tournament wouldn’t even have existed if the PGA Tour didn’t shut down for three months during the pandemic, a last-minute replacement for the canceled John Deere Classic. But Morikawa and Thomas also awakened memories on Sunday of what live sports can be.

It took three extra holes at the course that Jack Nicklaus built near his Columbus, Ohio home before Morikawa, the 23-year-old who turned pro just 13 months ago, emerged victorious for his second career title. It wasn’t a bland finish to the tournament, either. Instead, it was the best sporting event to take place on American soil in months.

Thomas, a 12-time champion on tour, looked like he would have an easy walk up the 18th fairway and into the winner’s circle. But he let a three-shot lead with three holes left slip away, missing an 11-footer for par at the 18th to drop into a tie with Morikawa and force a playoff.

Morikawa got to this point with an exemplary display of iron play and shot-making. Put an iron in his hands and Morikawa, playing in just his 24th professional tournament, is as dangerous as any player on tour. He nearly aced the par-3 fourth hole, his tee shot hitting the flagstick and coming to a stop a foot away from the cup. At the par-5 fifth hole, he hit an approach shot from 230 yards to within three feet for an eagle. His 8-iron at the par-3 12th left a mark on the green just over the cup, leading to another tap-in birdie. And on the drivable par-4 14th, after seeing playing partner Viktor Hovland hit into the water before him, he still took out driver and ended up 11 feet from the flag.

On the first hole of the playoff, Morikawa found a fairway bunker off the tee and played a safe approach to the back of the green, 24 feet away. Thomas, meanwhile, was in trouble, on a severe uphill lie in the right-hand rough. He could only manage to hit his second shot to the left edge of the green, leaving himself a 50-foot putt with a severe left-to-right break.

It was at this moment that Thomas decided to remind everyone that he’s one of the best players in the world. The top players know how to overcome adversity, to not let one bad shot, one bad swing, one poor score deter them. Thomas had already shown that quality earlier in the round. After not making a bogey for the first 55 holes this week, he quickly went two-over for his round on Sunday. He then ran off a streak of 10 straight one-putts, the longest of his career, and played the next 12 holes in seven-under.

Facing the lengthy putt on the 18th green, he caught the ridge with perfect speed and watched as the ball fell neatly in the middle of the cup for an unlikely birdie. It was the type of magical moment that would’ve had fans erupting in celebration, but with no spectators around the green, he could only celebrate with his caddy.

Morikawa followed up with his own slice of magic, his putt just catching the left side of the cup for a matching birdie. It was two more holes before Morikawa closed out the tournament, hitting another approach to within 10 feet and two-putting for par on the 10th after Thomas was forced to chip out from under a tree. It was thrilling, it was exhilarating, it was two pros at the top of the game entertaining the viewing audience at home.

Consistency has been the hallmark of Morikawa’s young career. He began by making the cut in his first 22 events, the longest streak to start a career since Tiger Woods. He now has more career wins than he does missed cuts, the first player since Woods to win his second event before missing his second cut.

He and Woods have had a remarkably similar start to their careers. They have the same number of rounds of 65 or better through their first 90. Woods has one more sub-par round. Morikawa’s scoring average in that span is nearly two shots better than Woods. He will rise to 13th in the world rankings with this victory, one spot higher than Woods.

His strong start to his career doesn’t come as a surprise to the young, confident California native. “I’m not surprised,” he said at his post-victory press conference. “But I didn’t expect myself to do all this. I just set goals for myself and I had these things that I wanted to accomplish.”

“It’s not a surprise. Just a lot of belief in myself that I could do this. I go back to being comfortable. Comfortable I think is the best word for a lot of these guys out here because they’ve been out here for many years. They know the courses, they know where to hit it. For me, it’s getting as comfortable as I can as quickly as I can.”

The PGA Tour has held five events since returning to play last month, and Morikawa has been in a playoff in two of them. His first title came last season at the Barracuda Championship, a tournament played opposite the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. The win on Sunday is his first against a field of the game’s best. And he believes he’s just getting started.

“This is a huge stepping stone,” he said. “We got No. 1 out of the way, we got No. 2. Let the gates just open and let’s just keep going.”

He beat former World No. 1 Thomas on Sunday. Now he’s ready to conquer the rest of the PGA Tour.