Morikawa "Already 2 Wins"... "This Time a Major"

PGA Championship Final Day 6-Under Surge Nets 2.4 Billion Won Jackpot, Johnson 2nd, '3-Peat Bid' Koepka 29th

Collin Morikawa (right) is sharing a moment of joy with his caddie immediately after winning his first major PGA Championship of the season. San Francisco, California, USA = Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Getty Images

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] "This time, a major."

Colin Morikawa (USA), the 'Workday Charity Open champ,' surged with a 6-under-par on the final day of the first major of the 2020 PGA Tour season, the PGA Championship (total prize money $11 million), held on the 10th (Korean time) at Harding Park TPC in San Francisco, California (par 70, 7,234 yards), to achieve a dramatic come-from-behind victory (13-under-par 267). This is already his second win of the season and his third career win, with a winner's prize of a whopping $1.98 million (23.5 billion KRW).

He is a next-generation star who was ranked No. 1 in the world amateur rankings in 2018. In fact, after turning professional last year, he immediately made waves by winning the Barracuda Championship in July, and boasted consistency by making the cut in 22 consecutive tournaments up to the RBC Heritage in June. Although he missed Tiger Woods' (USA) record of 25 consecutive tournaments by being cut off at the Travelers Championship, he once again became the center of news by defeating Justin Thomas (USA) in a playoff at the Workday Charity Open.

Morikawa started the day tied for 4th place, two strokes behind, and added one eagle and four birdies. He opened the scoring with consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4, followed by a birdie on hole 10 (par 4), and then a chip shot birdie on hole 14 (par 4) to seize the momentum. The highlight was the eagle on hole 16 (par 4). After a 293-yard shot that landed on the green in one, he sank a 2.1-meter eagle putt. He cheered, "I finally achieved my dream of becoming a major champion," and added, "I'm even happier to win in San Francisco, my 'second hometown' where I have lived for the past four years."

Third-round leader Dustin Johnson (USA) faltered with a 2-under-par round and dropped to a tie for 2nd place (11-under-par 269). Despite hitting drives up to 350 yards, his iron shots wavered, resulting in four birdies and two bogeys. The consolation was maintaining a tie for 2nd place with a 5.2-meter birdie putt on the final 18th hole (par 4). Paul Casey (England) added a 4-under-par round to join this group, and 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau (USA) is tied for 4th place (10-under-par 270).

Brooks Koepka's (USA) bid for a third consecutive win ended at a tie for 29th place (3-under-par 277). Last year, he successfully defended his title 'wire-to-wire,' and this time he was challenging a historic record of three consecutive wins for the first time in 83 years since Walter Hagen (1924?1927) achieved four consecutive wins. In Korea, Kim Si-woo (25) is tied for 13th place (7-under-par 273), and An Byeong-hun (29, both from CJ Logistics) is tied for 22nd place (4-under-par 276). An Byeong-hun notably made headlines off the course by scoring a hole-in-one on hole 11 (par 3, 189 yards).