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Collin Morikawa claimed a first PGA Tour title since 2023 with a dramatic one-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where Scottie Scheffler threatened a historic comeback.
Morikawa started Sunday two behind Akshay Bhatia and fell further back with a slow start to his final round at Pebble Beach Golf Links, where tee times were brought forward due to the threat of bad weather.
The two-time major champion reached the turn in 34 and moved top of a congested leaderboard by following a 10-foot birdie at the 11th with back-to-back gains at the 15th, giving him a two-shot lead with two to play.
Morikawa recovered from a bogey at the par-three 17th to birdie the par-five last, tapping in from close range to complete a five-under 67 and finish on 22 under ahead of Min Woo Lee and Sepp Straka.
Scheffler carded a round-of-the-day 63 to jump into tied-fourth alongside Tommy Fleetwod and close an 18th consecutive top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, as Rory McIlroy signed off his title defence with an eight-under 64 to claim a share of 14th.
How Scheffler threatened historic comeback
Scheffler was 13 strokes off the halfway lead and eight back heading into the final day, where he raced up the leaderboard by holing a 15-footer at the first, eagling the par-five next and picking up another shot at the par-four third.
He responded to missing a close-range birdie chance at the fourth by holing from 15 feet to save par at the next and making an eagle at the par-five sixth, then cancelled out a birdie at the par-three seventh with a bogey at the next to card a front-nine 30.
Scheffler has not finished outside of the top 10 on the PGA Tour since The Players last March
Scheffler made back-to-back birdies from the 10th to briefly get within one of the lead and bounced back from a bogey at the 12th by scrambling a par at the next, with the world No 1 taking advantage of the par-five 14th to move into a share of the lead.
A poor bogey at the 15th and missed opportunities over the next two holes left Scheffler requiring a final-hole eagle, which he delivered after firing a spectacular iron shot to within three feet of the hole.
“I had to do something special today to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said. “I was playing really aggressive, a bit more aggressive than maybe I normally am, so a few bogeys on the card.
“I’ve felt like I’m battling all week just to give myself a chance and then to have some special stuff happen today and put myself in the clubhouse with a chance is always nice.”
Morikawa holds off bunched leaderboard
Three other players were still on the course on 20 under when Scheffler produced his eagle finish, with Morikawa, Jacob Bridgeman and Sam Burns having five, four and three holes to play respectively.
Morikawa got up and down from off the green to scramble pars at the 13th and 14th before holing from 30 feet to edge ahead at the par-four next, then undid his birdie at the 16th by bogeying the par-three next.
The numbers behind Collin Morikawa’s victory
Lee birdied four of his last six holes to set the clubhouse on 21 under and move level with Morikawa, who faced a 19-minute wait to play his approach shot into the par-five last as the group ahead struggled to finish the hole.
Morikawa found the right edge of the green and lagged a putt from the fringe to a foot of the target, then tapped in to claim a first PGA Tour title since the Zozo Championship in Japan in October 2023.
Scorecard from Morikawa’s final round
Lee was joined on 21 under by Straka after the Austrian played his last three holes in four under, with Fleetwood birdieing four of his final six holes to join Scheffler two strokes behind Morikawa.
“I kept believing in myself,” Morikawa said. “This didn’t feel possible at the beginning of the week, but with the right steps and belief, I was able to put one foot in front of the other, hit some great shots and make some great putts.”
Burns briefly led after six birdies in his first 13 holes but bogeyed the par-three 17th to finish tied-sixth with overnight leader Akshay Bhatia, as Bridgeman bogeyed two of his last three holes to drop back into a share of eighth.
McIlroy had eight birdies in his only bogey-free round of the week, including four in a five-hole stretch on his front nine, with the world No 2 – who ended five shots back – satisfied with his game heading into a busy stretch on the PGA Tour season.
Rory McIlroy carded rounds of 68, 67, 72 and 64 during his title defence, having claimed a two-shot victory at last year’s event
“There was a couple of destructive tee shots yesterday but everything feels in pretty good shape,” McIlroy said. “But all-in-all some really good stuff this week and I’m pretty encouraged going into next week for sure.”
What’s next?
The PGA Tour stays in California for the Genesis Invitational, another Signature Event, with Tiger Woods’ foundation hosting the event at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
Ludvig Åberg returns as defending champion, with early coverage live on Thursday from 3.15pm on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 9pm. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
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