TOUR REPORT
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and it evolved into one for the ages.
Amid the marine layer chill, San Fran-
cisco's magnificent muni, TPC at Harding
Park, proved a superb test. It was 23-
year-old Collin Morikawa who broke the
logjam of leaders on the 70th hole, with
the shot of the year, a perfectly hit driver
that scurried onto the green, eight feet
from the cup on the par-4. When he rolled
in the eagle putt, the PGA had the unfor-
gettable moment it deserved.
u u u
wHat's aHEad
> The delayed U.S. Open will take
place September 17-20 at Winged Foot
Golf Club's legendary West course in sub-
urban New York City. Winged Foot last
hosted this event in 2006 when Phil Mick-
elson agonizingly double-bogeyed the
final hole to lose by one shot to Geoff
Ogilvy. Winning score that year was 285,
five-over-par. In the 1974 U.S. Open at
Winged Foot, Hale Irwin topped every-
one with a seven-over-par 287.
> Even more intriguing than a Septem-
ber U.S. Open is a late autumn Masters.
Set for November 12-15, golf fans are
giddy over the prospects and the novelty
of fall glory for spring's greatest show.
Admittedly, Augusta's flashy hues will
be lacking, but there are enough hard-
woods and other trees mixed in with the
pines where there could be some color.
With its winter rye fairway grass, the
course will likely play longer than in the
spring. Still, this is Augusta. Expect con-
ditions to be flawless.
u u u
suRpRIsEs Of tHE yEaR
> Brendan Todd completed one of
golf's great comebacks in 2019-2020. After
falling out of the World's Top 2,000 in
2018, he rebounded with two victories, a
world ranking of 43 heading into the
BMW Championship and a game that has
him in contention seemingly every week.
> Since the re-start, no one ranks
higher in the PGA Tour's Stokes Gained
stat than Daniel Berger. Nagging injuries
late in 2018 and into 2019 caused a plunge
to the 150 mark in the world rankings.
Once again healthy, Berger captured the
Colonial in June, finished second at the
WGC event in Memphis and has two
thirds, upping his current ranking to 17.
> We knew Collin Morikawa was one
of the elite young players on the PGA
Tour in 2019. We just had no idea how
elite. All he has done since 2019 is make
22 cuts in a row to start his PGA Tour ca-
reer, second all-time to Tiger's 25; win
three times, including the PGA Champi-
onship; and post two second-place fin-
ishes. He will have his off weeks — but
with his consistent ball-striking and calm
demeanor, there won't be many of them.
u u u
mIssInG In aCtIOn
> Brooks Koepka most recently held
the world's No. 1 ranking from May 19,
2019 through February 8, 2020. It's been a
long time, however, since he looked the
part. Koepka had a stem cell procedure
on his left knee after the 2019 Tour Cham-
pionship, then re-injured it in mid-Octo-
ber at the CJ Cup@Nine Bridges in Korea,
where he was defending champ. He sat
until January. Since then, he's posted just
two Top 10s, missed four cuts and with-
drew before The Northern Trust to miss
the rest of the playoffs.
> We try to be patient and understand
Tiger Woods and his fragile back. Yet, we
saw what he did in Japan and at the Mas-
ters. We see it almost every time he tees it
up, at least for nine or 18 holes. Now we
want him to do that for 72 holes. We'll see
him at the U.S. Open. If his back holds
up, the big story of 2020 could well be
Tiger breaking Sam Snead's all-time
record for PGA Tour victories. That
would be huge — but we'll have to wit-
ness it on TV, as sadly, there are no in-per-
son spectators for the foreseeable future.
Fall,
not
spring,
colors
will
be
on
display
at
Augusta
National,
home
of
The
Masters.
Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Collin Morikawa courtesy TaylorMade Golf // "Augusta National #12 'Golden Bell'" by flyosity is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
