KAPALUA, Maui >> The problems that Collin Morikawa felt like he had figured out in his first three rounds of 2023 roared back to life at the absolute worst time.
The easiest stretch of golf at the Plantation Course wound up causing one of the most stunning collapses in the 25-year history of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua as Morikawa lost a lead that had ballooned to nine over Jon Rahm before the Spaniard closed with nine birdies and an eagle to shoot 10-under 63 and pull off a shocker over Morikawa by two strokes at 27 under.
Rahm bogeyed the first hole in the third-to-last group before playing an incredible stretch of golf that included three birdies and an eagle in four holes on the back nine to overcome a six-shot deficit with six to play.
As well as Rahm played down the stretch, it was impossible to take your eyes off Morikawa’s shocking collapse as it happened. His first three bogeys of the tournament — all in a row — came on holes 14 through 16, which the rest of the field played in 44-under-par.
“Sadness. It sucks,” Morikawa said as he stood and answered every question after the round. “You work so hard and you give yourself these opportunities and just bad timing on bad shots and it added up really quickly.”
A year ago, Rahm shot 33-under-par over four rounds at Kapalua, which would have broke the PGA Tour record for score under par, but instead wasn’t even good enough to win the tournament.
This time around, Rahm raised the trophy shaped like the humpback whales that have been playing in the Pacific Ocean just off the golf course all week after thinking he might have played his way out of it after the first hole.
“Winning wasn’t in my mind,” Rahm said after his three-putt on the first green dropped him to 16 under. “Just had to get to work and making birdies. (Hole) 15 is truly when (winning) became a reality.”
Rahm was three back of Morikawa when he teed off on the par-5 15th. When he rolled in a 12-footer for eagle, he was tied.
Morikawa, which had showed off a much-improved short game and putting stroke all week, hammered a sand shot over the green on No. 14 that caused him to make his first bogey in 86 holes at Kapalua dating back to last year.
He missed the green for the first time in two all week on 15 and needed two chips to find the green where he missed a nine-footer for par.
Another bad chip that came up short and rolled back off a false front resulted in yet another shocking bogey on a section of the golf course that the players tore up all four days. A birdie on 18 got him into the clubhouse in second place at 25 under after finishing with a 72.
“Once I made bogey on 14 they were walking off 15. And I didn’t see the leaderboard until I got to the green and you realize I’m putting for par to stay tied for the lead,” Morikawa said. “At that point it’s a little different feeling than what you had early on.”
Rahm put the tournament away on 18 when he managed to get up and down from the back of the green to go up by three, forcing Morikawa to have to make a nearly impossible albatross on 18 to force a playoff.
Rahm is now 60-under par in his last eight rounds on Maui with a ticket into next year’s Sentry TOC field already punched.
“It would have been tough to shoot that low twice and not win it, so I’m glad I had the chance and I’m glad I did it,” Rahm said. “You never want to see somebody have a bad day down the stretch, but I felt like with that lead (Morikawa) had I needed to play really good and he needed to make a couple of mistakes.”
Morikawa is the ninth player to tie a PGA Tour record by losing a six-shot lead after 54 holes.
Rahm, who won $2.7 million in the first elevated event of a revamped 2023 PGA Tour schedule, has now won three of his last five tournaments worldwide.
Tom Hoge shot a 9-under 63 to finish in a tie for third place at 23 under with Max Homa.
World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler, who could have surpassed Rory McIlroy for No. 1 with a two-way tie for third or better finish, ended up in a tie for seventh place at 21 under after shooting 70.
