Advertisement

Collin Morikawa matches Tiger Woods with rare British Open feat

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·4-min read
Collin Morikawa (pictured left) holding the British Open trophy and (pictured right) Tiger Woods smiling.
Collin Morikawa (pictured left) equalled an impressive Tiger Woods (pictured right) feat after winning the 149th British Open. (Getty Images)

Collin Morikawa has produced a sensational Final Round to claim the 149th British Open and in doing so matched a special Tiger Woods achievement on the PGA Tour.

Morikawa held off Jordan Spieth with an ice-cool Final Round to finish on 15-under and claim the British Open at Royal St George's.

WOW: Golf world reacts to Open rival's 'petty' Dechambeau sledge

'REALLY BAD': Aussie golfers in 'horrific' chaos at British Open

'THIS IS NUTS': Golf world stunned by 'disgusting' incident

Spieth was filthy with himself and blamed a couple of "dumb mistakes" at the end of his third round for costing him the chance of winning a second Claret Jug and finish two shots behind Morikawa.

Morikawa claimed his second major at the age of 24 putting him in illustrious company.

The American joined golf legend Tiger Woods as the only men to have won two majors (The Open and the PGA Championship) by the age of 25.

The packed galleries, enjoying a memorable finale after last year's cancellation, roared on Spieth.

But despite a return to his best, he was unable to catch Morikawa, finishing 13 under, and left to rue his bogey-bogey finish the night before.

Morikawa showed impressive composure in front of a 32,000-strong crowd in the galleries to create history.

Jordan Spieth upset over British Open finish

Spieth was left kicking himself after a round of 66 left him reeling on the final day.

"The finish yesterday was about as upset as I've taken a finish of a round to the house," he said after a round of 66 which matched that of Morikawa's on the last day at Royal St George's.

"I walked in and said 'Is there something that I can break?' I knew that was so important because I would have been in the final group.

"So I'm upset because I really felt like I played well enough to win and made a couple of really dumb mistakes that possibly if I had maybe played the week before, wouldn't have made.

Jordan Spieth (pictured) reacts after a put on the 16th green during his final round on day 4 of The 149th British Open Golf Championship at Royal St George's.
Jordan Spieth (pictured) reacts after a put on the 16th green during his final round on day 4 of The 149th British Open Golf Championship at Royal St George's. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images) (ANDY BUCHANAN via Getty Images)

"Like just stepping in and missing a couple footer on 18 yesterday, not really thinking about it.

"I finished two over on those holes, which what was frustrating as it would have been three of us (plus overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen) separated by at least three shots from the field and I would have been in the final group.

"So it was kind of a double whammy there. But at the same time, I did everything I could in the past few hours to win this championship.

"What good does it do to be upset? You come out today (thinking) 'Yes, I should be leading the tournament'. That's how I felt.

"But now I get to play with a chaser's mentality, which sometimes can be with a bit more freedom."

with AAP

Watch 'Mind Games', the new series from Yahoo Sport Australia exploring the often brutal mental toil elite athletes go through in pursuit of greatness:

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.