Instant British Open Analysis: Collin Morikawa Hoists The Claret Jug
(Photo via GETTY IMAGES)
If you woke up early enough, hopefully you were able to watch a great final round of The British Open where 24 year-old Collin Morikawa shot a bogey-free 66, shooting four under par and winning the tournament by two shots over runner-up Jordan Spieth. Morikawa played phenomenal golf and had the putter working the entire day. Whenever he got into trouble, he always found a way to escape it, which gave him the separation he needed to pull this off.
This was truly a phenomenal round for Morikawa who has now won two majors in eight tries, which is absurdly impressive. According to Justin Ray of Twenty First Group’s, Morikawa is the first player in men’s golf history to win his debut in two different majors. I have a feeling he’ll win some more down the line, but he wasn’t the only story of the day.
On top of that, Morikawa joins Tiger Woods as the only two golfers to win both the British Open and the PGA Championship before the age of 25. Now that’s some elite company if I’ve ever seen it.
Jordan Spieth played like his old self this week
Quite an impressive showing from Spieth who finished second in the tournament, shooting 13 under par. Spieth had been on a massive dry spell when it came to winning tournaments. Before winning the Valero Texas Open earlier this year, his last victory was the 2017 British Open. He’s been in contention for two majors this year and appears to have found some kind of groove. Had Spieth not choked yesterday on the final two holes, we could have been talking about a playoff between Spieth and Morikawa.
Even though he didn’t win, Spieth should be proud of the way he played and this should carry momentum for the rest of the season.
Louis Oosthuizen can’t get it done again
Another major goes by and Louis Oosthuizen gets another top 3 finish. This is now his eighth major where he finished in the top 3. He had the 54 hole lead at 12 under par, but a one-over 71 vaulted him to a tie for third with Jon Rahm. This is just brutal for Oosthuizen. He continues to have strong finishes and this year he finished top three in three out of the four majors, but just can’t seem to execute in the final round which has cost him in two of the majors where he was in contention. The good news for Oosthuizen is that he’s still playing great golf, so this should give him the confidence for the rest of the season and next year as well.
Jon Rahm almost had a great comeback
A month or so after winning the U.S. Open, Jon Rahm was looking to win back-to-back majors. He could have done so, but a costly one-over first round 71 put him in an early hole. He played great golf the rest of the way, but he couldn’t overcome the early deficit.
The World number two is still playing phenomenal golf and will look to carry that momentum into the Tokyo Olympics where he will represent his home country of Spain.
The Major Championships have now come to a conclusion this year, so we’ll have to wait til next April for the next Major when The Masters will take place. There is still plenty of exciting golf to watch the rest of the year between the Olympics, the Ryder Cup and of course the rest of the PGA Tour season. Should be an exciting finish for golf fans this year. Now for even more enjoyment, here’s some dogs running onto a green at The British Open this year: