The final round of the Workday Charity Open had a little bit of everything. It was the type of Sunday drama that we missed during the 91-day suspension of the PGA Tour season and the reason why we mourned the loss of the British Open and the Ryder Cup from the 2020 golf calendar.
We’ll remember this one for years to come, even if there isn’t another Workday Charity Open to remember. Mark it down as the first clash of the Class of 2011 vs. the Class of 2019. Round One goes to the new kids on the block.
Justin Thomas, all of 27 years of age, opened the day with a two-stroke lead over Viktor Hovland and three over Collin Morikawa, but it didn’t last long as Hovland, 22, made birdie on three of the first five holes to grab the lead. It looked like the Norwegian, the only player to make the cut in all five events since the restart, would notch his second Tour title and validate the hype he’s generated since winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur. That is until he hit into the water at No. 6 and again at 14 and fell out of the trophy chase.
Morikawa, the 23-year-old Cal grad, charged out of the gate with early birdies at Nos. 2 and 4 and an eagle at the fifth and never backed off, signing for 66, even when he trailed by three strokes with three holes to go.
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The third member of the Class of 2019, Matt Wolff, 21, had the weekend off after a missed cut, but showed his high-octane game a week ago when he held the 54-hole lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. All three of these young guns already have Tour cards, not to mention wins to their credit, less than a year after an NCAA title seemed like life or death.
In time, the Class of ’19 may give the Class of ’11 a run for its money, which is saying something. You remember the high school Class of 2011, right?
Jordan Spieth was the first to leave college for the pro ranks and breakthrough in a major way – three majors already in his trophy case. Then there was Thomas. It feels as if it was a long time ago that he was introduced everywhere as “Jordan’s friend,” but it is Thomas, the winner of the 2017 PGA Championship, who has surpassed Spieth for most victories. Had he won the Workday, Thomas would have been only behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods for shortest time to win 13 times on Tour. He’ll have to wait another week because after a sluggish start and a magical putting stretch through the middle of the round he coughed up a three-stroke lead with three holes to go and eventually succumbed to Morikawa in a playoff.
Much was expected from fellow Class of 2011 graduates Patrick Rodgers and Ollie Schniederjans, but so far they are still searching for their first Tour title. Emiliano Grillo and Michael Kim have tasted victory, but Grillo still is seeking his second triumph while Kim is seeking a semblance of his former game.
The forgotten man of the Class of 2011 was Xander Schauffele, the Ringo Starr of the group, who has become one of its most consistent members. Justin Suh and Will Gordon, who finished T-3 at the Travelers Championship a few weeks ago, are hoping they can be the Schauffele of the Class 2019 and join Hovland, Schauffele and Wolff in the big leagues soon.
Other than Thomas and Schauffele, the Class of 2011 has experienced a quarter-life crisis of sorts. There’s plenty of time for Spieth to regain his winning touch and for the others to reach their potential, but there also are no promises of success in professional golf no matter how many plaudits one amasses on the AJGA, amateur and college ranks.
When Thomas, representing the old guard, poured in an eagle putt at 15 to take a three-stroke lead, his 10th one-putt in a row, it looked as if he had shown these young whippersnappers Hovland and Morikawa that he was still boss.
“Just was one of those days,” Hovland said as the putts failed to drop and he made some unforced errors on his way to finished third. “Maybe next time we can have a better chance at it.”
But the other member of the Class of 2019 never faltered. Hovland got a front row seat as Morikawa drove the 14th green after his lone bogey of the day and kept the heat on Thomas with a birdie at 17.
Hovland’s takeaway from seeing Thomas recover from a sluggish start and Morikawa hang around may help him win a major some day.
“You’re never really out of it, even though you’re three, four back,” he said. “You never know if the other guy is going to make a birdie or you might make four or five birdies in a row. So they did a good job of staying patient and hitting really good shots.”
Thomas admonished himself afterwards for letting the title slip through his hands. The way he made four birdies in a row starting at eight and that eagle at 15 to flip the script showed his killer instinct. But he let Morikawa up from the mat with bogeys at 16 and 18, and when given a second chance to end it, missed from 9 feet. As much as it hurts to fall short, Thomas may learn more in failure than in victory. Would anyone be surprised if he holds the 54 lead at the PGA next month?
Only a month ago, Morikawa was the one left trying to learn from a playoff loss. He missed a 3-foot putt to lose to Daniel Berger at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but this time he said he felt comfortable.
“That’s the most important thing out here being on the PGA Tour a year and a half in is being comfortable. How many times can you put yourself in a playoff spot like this?” Morikawa said. “I knew if I just kept going at it, we’d just keep putting pressure on him.”
This was the first time the names Thomas, Hovland and Morikawa battled on a Sunday, but it likely won’t be the last nor the last time these two vaunted classes are pitted against each other.
Which class will achieve more greatness: 2011 or 2019? It may take another two decades to determine an answer, but score a victory for Morikawa and the young guns in Round 1.
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