Morikawa Finds His Putting Stroke And Scores Impressive WGC Win
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When reigning PGA Champion Collin Morikawa is putting well, well, he’s tough to beat.
From Ryan Lavner’s GolfChannel.com story at the WGC Workday at The Concession, a late replacement event for the WGC Mexico City.
For the week, Morikawa ranked 10th in the field in putting, gaining nearly four shots on the field – the second-best putting week of his Tour career, behind only the PGA.
“His putting stroke looks unbelievably good,” Horschel said.
So why is this not just another hot streak? Why does he feel confident that these weeks can be the norm, not the exception?
“Now I feel confident I can take the stroke out of play and I can just really focus on speed, I can focus on the line, how do I get that ball to fall in the hole where I want it,” Morikawa said. “That’s what’s really exciting for me.”
Morikawa turned things around thanks to a move to a saw putting grip Mark O’Meara taught him two weeks ago.
Golf.com’s Nick Piastowski with an explanation and the backstory. Oh, and how it’s different than a claw grip.
The saw keeps his putter square. For a right-hander like Morikawa, the left hand grips the putter a bit like it would the other clubs, with the thumb pointing down the shaft. The right hand is the “saw,” which O’Meara described in a 2008 video for Golf Channel as “my top three fingers are on the top of the putter, my pinkie is just on the back edge of the putter and my thumb is around the back side.”
A few notes courtesy of the PGA Tour communications team:
Made 27 birdies, most of any player in the field; most birdies in a WGC stroke-play event is 29, by three players (Scott McCarron/2002 Workday Championship/6th, Martin Kaymer/2013 HSBC Champions/T8, Hideki Matsuyama/2016 HSBC Champions/Won,)
Led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach The Green (9.544) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (12.526
Morikawa joins Tiger Woods as the only players to win a major and WGC before turning 25
No player has won multiple tournaments through 20 weeks, the longest streak to start a season since 1994 (Nick Price won his second tournament in the 21st week of the season)
Scottie Scheffler finishes highest among the five players in the field who competed at the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Championship at The Concession Golf Club
Seven bogey-free rounds recorded during the week, but none in the final round
Morikawa’s early career is shaping up to be impressive historically:
This also makes it back-to-back weeks for Cal golf, with Max Homa winning last week’s Genesis Invitational.
