Collin Morikawa hit the shot of his life to put himself in position on Sunday to win the PGA Championship.
The 23-year-old found the green off the tee on the driveable par-4 16th hole, leaving just seven feet for eagle. Morikawa made the putt and from there was on cruise control to win his first major championship.
On Wednesday, the former star for the Cal Bears joined the Pat McAfee Show to talk about the wild week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, more specifically the feeling he had on No. 16.
“It’s not a feeling you can describe, but you’re literally in the zone,” said Morikawa, who now has as many major titles as professional missed cuts. “When Steph Curry pulls up from half-court, he doesn’t have to look because he knows it’s good. That’s the type of feeling I had. I just needed a very good bounce.”
Speaking of Curry, the Golden State Warriors star was at the PGA Championship and even asked a question in Morikawa’s press conference.
Morikawa said he was watching scores and was aware of the situation on the leaderboard, and that led to his aggressive approach down the stretch on Sunday night.
“On 12, there were seven guys at 10 under and I said screw it, someone’s got to take themselves out of this, someone’s going to start birdieing, so let’s make something happen,” he explained. “It was a feeling of ‘someone has to do something.’ It wasn’t going to be given to anyone, there were too many guys at the top of the leaderboard where someone had to do something. I think that’s how they set up the pins, set up the back nine for someone to make a birdie, someone to make an eagle possibly on 16. Fortunately, that was me.”
