Collin Morikawa ends title drought with PGA Tour victory in Japan

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INZAI CITY, Japan – Collin Morikawa ended nearly two years without a win when he shot 7-under 63 to secure a six-shot victory in the Zozo Championship on Sunday.

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Morikawa’s last win was the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November 2021. He had not won on the PGA Tour since the 2021 British Open at Royal St. George’s.

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There was no doubt about that. He began the final round two shots behind Justin Suh. Morikawa scored 30 points on the front nine to pull away, and no one could catch him. Beau Hossler and Eric Cole each scored 70 points to take second place.

Morikawa had four birdies on the front nine while Suh had three bogeys, a seven-shot swing from which Suh never recovered. He finished with a 74 and placed 10th.

Morikawa has achieved three second-place finishes since capping the 2021 season by winning the European Tour points race. That included The Sentry in January when he lost a five-shot lead.

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The victory was the sixth of his PGA Tour career and moves him to No. 13 in the world rankings.

LPGA TOUR

Minjee Lee of Australia survived a late surge from Alison Lee, eventually defeating the American on the first playoff hole and winning the BMW Ladies Championship in Seoul.

Minjee Lee finished with a 4-under 68 and Alison Lee had a 67 at Seowon Valley, both players finishing at 16-under 272.

The Australian made birdie on the par-4 18th in the playoff and secured the win.

She won for the 10th time on the LPGA Tour and picked up her second win in her last three starts after winning in Cincinnati. She is the third Australian with 10 or more wins on the LPGA Tour, behind Jan Stephenson (16) and Karrie Webb (41).

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Defending champion Lydia Ko, a South Korean-born New Zealander, shot 69 to finish at 14-under 274, two shots behind in third place.

LIVE GOLF

Anirban Lahiri shot a 7-under 65 and Bryson DeChambeau provided theatrics on the Blue Monster’s back nine, leading the Crushers to a two-shot victory over the RangeGoats in the LIV Golf Team Championship on Sunday at Trump Doral in Doral, Florida .

In the final event of LIV Golf’s second season, scores from all four players on each team counted, and the Crushers were in control of most of the back nine and led by four shots when the final group reached the 18th hole.

DeChambeau managed just one par on the back nine, shooting 67. Charles Howell III had a 72 and Paul Casey had a 73.

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Bubba Watson birdied the 18th for a 67 to lead the RangeGoats. Talor Gooch, who won the individual points title that season, and Thomas Pieters each had 70. Harold Varner III shot 72.

The defending champion 4 Aces never stood a chance as Dustin Johnson closed with a 75 and only one player – Peter Uihlein with a 69 – broke 70. They finished last among the four teams. Torque finished third.

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EUROPEAN TOUR

Adrian Meronk won for the third time this season on the European Tour when he secured a one-shot victory with a 6-under 66 at the Andalucia Masters in San Roque, Spain.

Disappointed at being left off the Ryder Cup team despite one of his wins at Marco Simone, Meronk overcame two bogeys on his first three holes to win at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande in southern Spain.

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He won by one stroke over Matti Schmid, who shot a 71.

Meronk continued the slow start by making two eagles on the front nine, including a 121-yard holeout on the par-4 ninth hole. He then had four birdies on the back nine, including one on the par-3 17th, to take the lead for good.

Meronk became the first three-time winner on the European Tour this season, moving to No. 3 in the Race to Dubai and No. 46 in the world rankings.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Harrison Frazar won his first PGA Tour Champions title on Sunday when he birdied the 18th hole for a 3-under 69 to force a playoff with Richard Green and then the first at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond extra hole made a birdie from 8 feet, Va.

Frazar wasn’t the only winner. Steve Stricker captured his first Charles Schwab Cup title with two post-season events remaining despite skipping the tournament.

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Green also finished with a 69, helped by a 10-foot par putt on the 15th hole and an 8-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole. But he failed to birdie the 516-yard final hole at the Country Club of Richmond, which opened the door for Frazar.

Frazar and Green finished at 11-under 205.

The 54 best players in the Schwab Cup standings will advance to the next playoff event in two weeks. Four players made it into the top 54 on Sunday – Shane Bertsch, John Huston, Rocco Mediate and Charlie Wi.

OTHER TOURS

David Ford shot an 8-under 64 and U.S. Amateur champion Nick Dunlap shot a 68 as the United States won the World Amateur Team Championship by 11 shots over Australia and Norway on Saturday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates. The Americans won the Eisenhower Trophy for the 16th time, but it was the first since 2014. … Aline Krauter of Germany closed out the Women’s European Tour with a 4-under 68 victory over Sara Kjellker of Sweden at the Hero Women’s Indian Open . … Austin Bautista rebounded with a 6-under 64 to win the Webex Players Series SA by one on the PGA Tour of Australasia. … Nana Suganuma completed a three-shot victory at the Nobuta Group Masters on the Japanese LPGA with a 2-under 70.

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