WGC-Workday Championship 2021: Collin Morikawa Wins; Brooks Koepka T-2nd
February 28, 2021
Collin Morikawa led the field at the WGC-Workday Championship during Round 3 on Saturday, and he was crowned the winner of the first World Golf Championships outing of the year on Sunday.
With a four-birdie, one-bogey round, Morikawa maintained his lead and earned his fourth career victory at The Concession in Bradenton, Florida.
2021 WGC-Workday Championship Final Leaderboard and Prize Payouts
1: Collin Morikawa (-18)
T2: Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka, Billy Horschel (-15)
5: Scottie Scheffler (-14)
T6: Louis Oosthuizen, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson (-12)
T9: Jason Kokrak, Patrick Reed (-11)
Full leaderboard via PGA Tour.
Purse distribution via Golf Digest.
Morikawa entered the last day of play with a two-shot lead over the rest of the field, while Brooks Koepka and Billy Horschel chased him in a tie for second place.
Morikawa's third round was highlighted by an eight-hole stretch in which he clocked seven birdies, balancing out the three bogeys he recorded on the day. Koepka had dropped down from the lead he acquired Friday to join Horschel, who recovered from consecutive bogeys to record a par, a birdie and an eagle to close on Morikawa late Saturday.
On Sunday, Horschel moved into a tie for the lead when he picked up two birdies on three early holes, but Morikawa soon pulled away, and Horschel ended up in a tie for second.
Koepka also ended the weekend at 15 under.
Viktor Hovland joined the chase when he grabbed three consecutive birdies at the turn, but he didn't shake Scottie Scheffler as the pair climbed the leaderboard from a tie for seventh place, where they started the day.
It looked like Hovland's rise would end on No. 13 when he found his way into ridiculously thick rough. But the 23-year-old recovered for birdie and an approach on Morikawa.
He eventually dropped when he recorded his third bogey of the day on the next hole while Morikawa added another birdie to increase the distance. Hovland finished the weekend in the three-way tie for second.
Webb Simpson, who sat at 12 under to hold fourth place entering Sunday, finished tied for sixth.
Rory McIlroy entered Sunday in a tie with Patrick Reed for fifth place, and the Northern Irishman looked to be in solid position to earn his first top-10 finish since the Masters, a week after he missed the cut at the Genesis Invitational.
He went one under on Sunday to finish the weekend in the sixth-place tie at 12 under.
Next up on the golf calendar is the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida, where Tyrrell Hatton will attempt to hold on to his championship title from last season by fending off 2018 champion McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, who will play in the tournament for the first time.