Japanese-Chinese American Collin Morikawa won the British Open golf tournament on Sunday, becoming the first men’s golfer to win two major tournaments in his debuts.
The 24-year-old, who is ranked fourth in the world, adds the trophy to his already impressive resume. He also won the PGA Championship in 2020, despite turning professional just two years ago in 2019.
Besting second-place Jordan Spieth by two strokes, Morikawa finished the tournament at 15 under par. According to CNN, he entered Sunday a stroke behind then-first place Louis Oosthuizen but eked out a comeback win.
“This is by far one of the best moments of my life,” Morikawa said, according to CBS Sports. “It gives me chills.”
The winning moment 👏
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2021
Collin Morikawa rounds off a truly magnificent performance at Royal St George's 🏆
Follow all the reaction here 👉https://t.co/xYY44zAFs3#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/NyrwTVPv0U
Morikawa walked away with $2.07 million in prize money, which according to Sports Illustrated is the biggest prize in Open history. But despite entering the majors off-season, he won’t have much time to rest on his laurels: he is playing for Team USA in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Golf is returning to the Olympics for just the second time since 1904, after being reinstituted in 2016. According to Yahoo Sports, Morikawa is savoring the opportunity to participate in the Games.
“The Olympics are the same goal—to win,” Morikawa. “I’m very happy that golf is in the Olympics now because it’s just an extra incentive to just add something to your resume that not a lot of people have an opportunity to do.”
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