Collin Morikawa honors Tiger Woods with WGC-Workday Championship win

BRADENTON, Fla. – The best way to honor Tiger Woods was to play like him.

That’s what Collin Morikawa did Sunday in winning the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession Golf Club. After limping to the clubhouse and losing more than half his lead on the inward nine in the third round, the reigning PGA champion collected himself overnight, remained in attack mode and was a steady force in the final round to win by 3 shots against the strongest field of the season and on a course stocked with hazards.

Like Woods, who ruled final rounds as he has won 56 of 60 PGA Tour events when holding at least a share of the lead after 54 holes, Morikawa didn’t squander his 2-shot, 54-hole advantage in winning his first WGC title. In joining Woods as the only players to win a major championship and a WGC title before turning 25, Morikawa closed with a 3-under-par 69 to finish at 18 under.

MORE: Woods responds to golfers wearing his Sunday red as he recovers from accident

“What a week,” said Morikawa, 24, who made 27 birdies in winning his fourth PGA Tour title. “I’ve been working on so much the past two weeks. And no matter what anyone says, sleeping on a lead has its pressure, has its nerves.

“But I was excited to get back in contention, to have a chance to win. I haven’t had it for a while, but this is what we love to do, we love to win.”

Viktor Hovland, who took a quadruple-bogey 8 on his last hole in the second round, shot 67 to finish in a tie for second with Brooks Koepka, who shot 70 and battled a neck injury throughout the week, and Billy Horschel (70).

A shot back in fifth was Scottie Scheffler (68). Another stroke back were Rory McIlroy (71), Louis Oosthuizen (69) and Webb Simpson (72).

During his victorious interview on the 18^th green, Morikawa talked about Woods and then teared up after revealing he lost his grandfather, Toshio, a month ago.

“Tiger means everything to me,” Morikawa said. “And yes, he had the crash and thankfully he’s all right and hopefully he has a quick and great recovery, but I don’t think we say thank you enough. So I want to say thank you to Tiger, because sometimes you lose people too early.  I lost my grandpa about a month ago. And you don’t get to say thank you enough.

“So thank you, guys.”

In some way or fashion, about 20 percent of the field that featured 47 of the top 50 players in the world showed their support in the final round for Woods, who was involved in a horrific single-vehicle rollover crash on Tuesday and is recovering in a Los Angeles hospital after multiple surgeries to his right leg, ankle, and foot.

Horschel had “TW” etched on his cap while Matt Kuchar, Jason Day and Bryson DeChambeau played with golf balls stamped with “TIGER.”