2021 Open Championship: Collin Morikawa outduels Jordan Spieth for claret jug
The 149th Open Championship delivered the drama on Sunday.
A trio of golfers — Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Louis Oosthuizen — battled it out to lift the claret jug at the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England.
Oosthuizen held a slender lead coming into play Sunday, shooting 198 through the first three rounds. Morikawa was one shot back of the lead, while Spieth ended his third round with back-to-back bogeys to sit three shots back of Oosthuizen entering the decisive round.
In the end, Morikawa capitalized on some missteps from Oosthuizen to seize the lead and didn't look back.
The American shot 4-under for the decisive round, fending off Spieth — who also shot minus-4 — to win The Open Championship in his first crack at the major tournament.
Here are the top moments from Sunday's final round at The Open:
The 24-year-old Morikawa made a huge move on the front nine, dropping a trio of birdies on holes seven through nine.
As Morikawa rolled, Spieth and Oosthuizen encountered some struggles on the front nine.
Spieth carded two bogeys on holes four and six but bounced back with an eagle on seven and birdied nine to shoot 34 before making the turn, three shots back of Morikawa at the time.
Meanwhile, Oosthuizen, who won the claret jug at St. Andrews in 2010, bogeyed the fourth and seventh holes to wrap up the front nine with a 37.
The pressure picked up on the back nine. Morikawa found himself in a predicament on the 10th after shooting into the rough but went up-and-down to save par.
Oosthuizen nearly thrust himself right back into the heart of the race on the 11th hole.
The 38-year-old South African came inches from a hole-in-one on the 253-yard par-3, rattling the flagstick. He had to settle for a birdie, though, putting him 11-under for the tournament after finishing out the hole.
Spieth made a big push after making the turn, carding three birdies on the first six holes of the back nine.
After rolling home a birdie on the 14th, he moved to minus-13 and one shot back of Morikawa.
Morikawa played steady, par golf on Nos. 10 through 13 before sinking a long putt on No. 14 to go 15-under and extend his lead.
Out of nowhere, Jon Rahm made a push among the leaders, with a string of four birdies on holes 13 through 16.
That string lifted Rahm to minus-11 on the day after 16 holes played, and he held that total to finish with a final-round 66.
Morikawa continued to show nerves of steel down the stretch, especially after finding the rough on the 15th hole.
His approach left him with an 8-foot putt to save par, but Morikawa sank the attempt and celebrated with a fist-pump to remain 15-under.
Spieth kept a clean card to wrap up, finishing with 32 on the back to go 4-under for the day and 13-under in the tournament.
However, Morikawa remained unfazed by the moment and stayed the course. He played bogey-free for his final 31 holes and had a tap-in for par on the 18th to win The Open Championship in his debut at the tournament.
Morikawa has played in just eight majors in his budding career and has won two of them, including the 2020 PGA Championship.
His final score of minus-15 topped Spieth (-13) by two strokes. Rahm and Oosthuizen settled for a split of third place at minus-11.
No Open championship is complete without the lifting of the claret jug.
When addressing the crowd — which Morikawa didn't have the opportunity to do after he won his first major in 2020 due to the pandemic — the American didn't hold back with his gratitude to the fans.
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