Collin Morikawa might have appeared to be out of the tournament when he fell behind by three shots with three holes to play, or when Justin Thomas holed a 50-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole, but precise ball striking and clutch putting, gave him the title in the first playing of the Workday Charity Open, his second win on the PGA Tour. It was the completion of a final round that included a closing 66, his third round of six-under or better for the week.
For the week, Morikawa ranked third in both strokes gained approach and strokes gained tee to green, picking up 9.2 strokes on the field on his approach to green stat (including 5.9 strokes on Sunday). Morikawa put the final dagger in on the third playoff hole with his 8-iron to nine feet from 173 yards.
He gets the approach work done with a split set of TaylorMade irons. The 4- and 5-iron are the P750, a forged cavity back, while the meat of the set is the pure muscleback P730.
Not to be overlooked, though, was his 230-yard approach to 3-feet for an eagle on the 5th hole, part of a front-nine 32. (Morikawa played the hole in six-under for the week.) His club of choice there was a 19-degree TaylorMade SIM Max Rescue. Morikawa has two different versions of the club, according to TaylorMade’s Ryan Ressa, who has worked with Morikawa since he was 12 years old.
“He loves his Rescues and swaps them around based on the flight he needs,” Ressa said. “He’s got one that goes 245 carry that comes in slightly flatter and one that goes 245 and high.”
Exactly the flight of the shot at the fifth hole, one of seven approaches in the final round and playoff that finished within 10 feet of the hole.
What Collin Morikawa had in the bag at the Workday Charity Open: