When Scottie Scheffler started slowly for the second straight week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, few expected him to mount another comeback.
The 29-year-old opened with a 72 at Pebble Beach and entered Sunday eight shots off the lead. Several big names stood between him and the top spot at one of golf’s most iconic venues.
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Collin Morikawa eventually secured his first PGA Tour victory since 2023, but Scheffler made sure he did not do it easily.
The world number one’s stunning eagle on the 72nd hole gave him the clubhouse lead at 20 under par, significantly pressuring Morikawa and Min Woo Lee who still had birdie opportunities.
Collin Morikawa admits Scottie Scheffler was on his mind during Pebble Beach finish
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Lee then posted a new target at 21 under, leaving Morikawa needing a closing birdie to avoid extra holes.
He delivered, and later spoke about how aware he was of the leaderboard pressure.
“Yeah. I was very aware of Scottie Scheffler’s score today. I mean, first off, what a player. I’ve known him for a long time and it’s cool to kind of go head to head against him and Sam,” Morikawa began by saying.
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“I practice a lot with Min Woo. I love looking at leaderboards, I want to know where I am. Like I said, when I’m playing out there, I wasn’t stepping on a tee saying, man, I’ve got to make birdie, or man, I’ve got to save par. I just knew where I was. I had to keep going because these guys weren’t going to let up. 18 is very birdieable with the way the wind was going. 14, 15, even 16, a lot of birdie holes coming in, even 13 even downwind.
“I think from the very start I was looking at leaderboards. I always have, I always will continue to do that. But yeah, I mean, I’d say after the birdie on 15 I knew that it wasn’t going to be enough. Like I had to keep going, keep making the birdies because you never know. He finished birdie – birdie, birdie eagle, right? And for a moment you thought the guy was out of the tournament. You can never let those things go by. I was really, really focused on myself. I just haven’t been able to get in that head state in a long time.”
How Collin Morikawa managed the long wait on Pebble Beach’s 18th hole
The golfing gods seemed to be conspiring against Morikawa on Sunday, especially late in his round. After a strong drive on the final hole, he was left waiting about 20 minutes before playing his second shot due to issues ahead of him involving Jacob Bridgeman.
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Despite the wait, the two-time major champion was not discouraged, subsequently commenting on the final hole’s dramatic events.
“The only concern was how long the wait was going to be. A lot of pacing for me. Pacing for me just kept me loose, just kept me moving because, shoot, it wasn’t warm by any means, right? So you stand there for a couple minutes, who knows what’s going to get stiff, what’s going to feel different,” he stated.
“I tried to take out my eight iron just, swing a bunch of swings. But when I stood on that tee, it was one shot, this is what you’re going to hit and we’ll figure out after.”
The win gives Morikawa plenty to build on going forward. He handled everything thrown at him brilliantly while conditions made scoring difficult and Scheffler applied pressure from behind.
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