Power 12 back as Morikawa looks to end victory drought on Maui
SANDWICH, ENGLAND - JULY 17: Collin Morikawa of United States plays his second shot on the 8th hole during Day Three of The 149th Open at Royal St George’s Golf Club on July 17, 2021 in Sandwich, England. (Photo by David Cannon/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Collin Morikawa will have a chance to bury the demons of the 2021 Hero World Challenge when he takes a six-stroke lead into the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions today.
The two-time Major winner added an eight-under 65 to rounds of 64 and 66 to lead on 24-under par from Matt Fitzpatrick, JJ Spaun and Scottie Scheffler at the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
While Séamus Power is still in position to retain the lead at the top of the FedEx Cup standings, the West Waterford man's three-under 70 saw him slip to tied 19th on 12-under-par, 12 shots adrift of Morikawa, who is seeking his first win since the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St George's.
The 25-year-old Californian hasn't had such a substantial lead since he led the Hero World Challenge by six shots in 2021 but crashed to a 76 to finish fifth behind Viktor Hovland when a win would have seen him become the fastest player to go to world number one since Tiger Woods.
Morikawa endured a frustrating and winless 2022, but after hooking up with Donegal putting coach Stephen Sweeney and short game expert Parker McLachlin, he's rediscovered his best form and given himself got a chance to clinch his sixth PGA TOUR win today.
"Winning the golf tournament," Morikawa said when asked what was at stake. "That's all it is. I think it is every time you're in these positions, just winning the golf tournament. It's nothing else. I don't care about anything else. I want to win.
"I know it's going to take a lot. There's going to be a lot of guys out there that are going to be firing at pins, making a lot of birdies early on. So that's just for me to just kind of do what I've been doing, staying patient, give myself opportunities and let 'em fall."
Hungry to win again — "That would be an understatement," he said — Morikawa hopes past experiences, including that reverse at the Hero, will stand to him.
"I'm going to put everything I've been through and everything I've done in the past and just kind of use that to my advantage hopefully and just start hole 1 and go strong for 18," he said. "It's a long day out there. It's a lot of golf. Just kind of go on past experiences to get me through tomorrow."
Fitzpatrick shot 66 as Spaun and Scheffler posted 69s to share second place, six adrift on 18-under with Jon Rahm and Tom Kim a further shot behind.
Scheffler needs to finish tied for third with one other player, or better to return to world number one at the expense of Rory McIlroy, but that won't be easy at a course conducive to low scoring.
Max Homa shot a 10-under 63 to jump from 27th to tied seventh on 16-under, albeit 10 strokes behind Morikawa.
As for Power, the West Waterford man has struggled with his approach play all week and lies last in the field for proximity to the hole.
He opened his third round with a bogey five, and while he eagled the fifth from 28 feet and birdied the sixth, he covered the easier back nine in just one-under par.
He will be looking to finish on a high before making the long-haul trip from Hawaii to Abu Dhabi for next week’s Hero Trophy, where he hopes to partner Shane Lowry at some stage as Great Britain and Ireland take on the Continent of Europe in a match designed to help European Ryder Cup skipper Luke Donald in his preparations for Rome.
