SAN FRANCISCO • In a sports year upended by the coronavirus crisis, championship moments have been long awaited, and Collin Morikawa created an extraordinary one on Sunday at the 102nd PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

The 23-year-old native Californian of half Japanese descent etched his name on the Wanamaker Trophy with a final-round six-under 64 for a 13-under 267 total in only his second appearance at a Major championship.

He became the third-youngest winner of the PGA Championship since it became a strokeplay event in 1958 - only Jack Nicklaus in 1963 and Rory McIlroy in 2012 were younger when they won it.

"I'm so excited, but it feels like this is where I'm supposed to be," said Morikawa, who only turned professional just last year after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley.

His play down the stretch on Sunday, however, suggested a maturity that cannot be measured in years.

This PGA Championship will be remembered for many things - its status as the first Major to be played after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the PGA Tour for three months, the absence of fans and the quiet on the course.

But from a purely golf perspective, it will be remembered as the place where Morikawa hit the shot of dreams - driving his ball from the tee to seven feet from the hole at the 294-yard, par-four 16th.

Then he converted an eagle putt to break a tie with Paul Casey. One could only imagine how a Sunday gallery would have reacted.

Practising on the range in case of a play-off, the Englishman could only marvel.

"What a shot he hit on 16," said Casey, who shot a 66 to end joint second on 269 alongside overnight leader Dustin Johnson, who carded a 68. "Just awesome golf. There's nothing you can do except tip your cap. Collin took on the challenge. That's what champions do."

Johnson, who fell to 0-4 at Majors where he held at least a share of the lead after 54 holes and whose sole Major came at the 2016 US Open, declined to talk to the media.

Morikawa, who parred Nos. 17 and 18 to close the deal, later recounted the conversation at the 16th tee box, where his caddie, J.J. Jakovac, asked what club he wanted. "I said, 'Let's hit driver.' This is perfect. That's when you have to capitalise," he added.

He also remembered a similar drive he hit at Muirfield Village en route to his victory at the Tour's Workday Charity Open last month.

"It fit my eye," he said.

Unleashing his driver on an aggressive line, his bold play cut slightly towards the target, cleared a dangerous pack of cypress trees guarding the green and landed softly, rolling to a stop seven feet away. The shot instantly had the sheen of legend.

"We were hoping for a good bounce, and we got one," he said.

Morikawa, who started the final round two shots behind fellow American Johnson, now has three wins in 27 starts overall in his brief time on the PGA Tour and his run of 22 straight made cuts since turning pro is second only to 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods (25).

"It's amazing," Morikawa said after receiving the Wanamaker Trophy on the 18th green. "To close it out in San Francisco, which is pretty much my second home, where I spent the last four years (in college), is pretty special."

Part of Harding Park's appeal has been its illustrious roster of champions. Woods, who finished tied for 37th over the weekend at one-under for the tournament after a solid round of 67, won the 2005 WGC-American Express Championship here, while four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy won the WGC-Matchplay in 2015.

It has also produced titles for the Hall of Famers Byron Nelson, Gary Player and Ken Venturi. Add the new world No. 5 to the list.

NYTIMES

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