Page 27 - Golf Champion - Mar 2021

through history – those who strike
it immaculately don’t always share
the same skills on or around the
greens. For all his class, the 24-year-
old’s putting has been seen as his
weakness. In fact Morikawa entered
the week losing almost three quarters
of a stroke per round in Strokes
Gained: Putting this season – near
last on the TOUR.
But Morikawa is an intelligent
individual. So when he received
advice on a saw grip and putting
style from Wolf Golf Hall of Famer
Mark O’Meara he took note and put
it into practice – and importantly
persevered longer than just one
week. A week after ranking last at
The Genesis Invitational he ranked
10th in the field at the WGC-Workday
Championship, gaining +0.988
strokes per round on the greens.
This turnaround, combined with
his usual ball-striking (Morikawa
outperformed the field by +2.39
strokes per round in Strokes Gained:
Approach-the-Green, marking the
fifth time in his career to lead an
event on TOUR in this category), saw
him cruise to a three-shot win on a
course that saw 65 of 72 players hit
at least one ball in the water and
provided the highest final round
scoring average (non-majors) of the
season thus far (72.41).
He now has the most victories by a
player currently under the age 25 and
is the seventh player since 1945 to
win four or more PGA TOUR events
including a major (under 25 years
old). He is the eighth player to win
their first WGC title in three or fewer
starts.

Branden Grace claims emotional
win for Dad.

The Puerto Rico Open final round
saw plenty of storylines emerge as

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