Collin Morikawa threatened a historic upset from Scottie Scheffler at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a dramatic one-shot victory and his first PGA Tour title since 2023.
Morikawa started Sunday two places behind Akshay Bhatia, but fell further behind after getting off to a slow start in the final round at Pebble Beach Golf Links, where tee times were moved up due to fears of bad weather.
The two-time major champion reached the turn at No. 34, made a 10-foot birdie on the 11th, and continued to improve his score on the 15th, giving him a two-shot lead with two strokes left and vaulting him to the top of the crowded leaderboard.
Collin Morikawa wins first PGA Tour title since October 2023
Morikawa recovered from a bogey on the par-3 17th hole and birdied the final par-5, scoring from close range for a 5-under 67 and finishing at 22 under, ahead of Lee Min-woo and Sepp Straka.
Scheffler shot a 63 on the day, moving him into a tie for fourth place with Tommy Fleetwood and capping his 18th consecutive top-10 finish on the PGA Tour. Rory McIlroy successfully defended his title with an 8-under 64, earning him a share of 14th place.
How Schaeffler threatened a historic comeback
Scheffler entered the final day 13 and eight shots behind the halftime lead, hitting a 15-footer on his first hole, an eagle on the next par-5 and another shot on the par-4 third to climb up the leaderboard.
After missing a close birdie opportunity on the fourth, he holed from 15 feet on the next hole to save par, made an eagle on the par-5 sixth, then canceled out birdie with a bogey on the next par-three seventh, finishing with a 30 on the front nine.
Scheffler hasn’t finished outside the top 10 on the PGA Tour since The Players last March.
Scheffler made back-to-back birdies from the 10th hole to close in on the lead, and after a bogey on the 12th hole, he made par on the next hole, and the world number one took advantage of the par-5 14th hole to move into a share of the lead.
Scheffler, who bogeyed the 15th and missed opportunities on the next two holes, called for eagle on the final hole, but hit a nice iron shot to within three feet of the hole for eagle.
“I had to do something special today to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said. “I had some bogeys on this card because I was playing really aggressive, a little more aggressive than I usually am.
“I felt like I was fighting all week just to give myself a chance and something special happened today and it’s always nice to have a chance and get in the clubhouse.”
Morikawa dominates the standings
At the time of Scheffler’s eagle finish, three other players were still on the course at 20 under, with Morikawa, Jacob Bridgman, and Sam Burns having played five, four, and three holes, respectively.
Morikawa raced up and down from the green on the 13th and 14th for par, then holed in from 30 feet on the next par 4 to gain the upper hand, bogeyed the next par 3 and lost the birdie on the 16th.
The numbers behind Collin Morikawa’s victory
Lee birdied four of the final six holes to leave the clubhouse at 21 under, tied with Morikawa. Morikawa was forced to wait 19 minutes before hitting his approach shot on the final par-5 as the group in front of him struggled to finish the hole.
Morikawa caught the right edge of the green, delayed his putt from the fringe to the foot of the target, and tapped in to win his first PGA Tour title since the ZOZO Championship in Japan in October 2023.
Morikawa’s final round scorecard
After the Austrian played the final three holes at 4 under, Lee was tied with Straka at 21 under, while Fleetwood birdied four of the remaining six holes to tie Scheffler, two strokes behind Morikawa.
“I continued to believe in myself,” Morikawa said. “At the beginning of the week this felt impossible, but with the right steps and belief I was able to put one foot in front of the other and hit some great shots and make some great putts.”
Burns briefly took the lead with six birdies in his first 13 holes, but he bogeyed the par-3 17th hole, and Bridgeman bogeyed two of his final three holes, dropping him to a tie for eighth and finishing tied for sixth with overnight leader Akshay Bhatia.
McIlroy had his only bogey-free round of the week, making eight birdies, including four on five holes on the front nine, and finishing five shots behind, the world No. 2 was pleased with his game heading into a busy period of the PGA Tour season.
Rory McIlroy carded rounds of 68, 67, 72 and 64 while defending his title, winning by two strokes in last year’s tournament.
“I had some destructive tee shots yesterday, but I feel like everything is in pretty good shape,” McIlroy said. “But overall we had some really good things this week and we’re definitely pretty encouraged going into next week.”
What’s next?
The PGA Tour will be in California for another signature event, the Genesis Invitational, with Tiger Woods’ foundation hosting the event at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
Ludwig Oberg returns as defending champion and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Golf from 3.15pm on Thursday, ahead of full coverage from 9pm. Get Sky Sports now and stream without a contract.
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