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Zozo Champion Collin Morikawa’s Biggest Dream Gets Shadowed by Fellow PGA Tour Rival’s Ambitious Rise

Published 10/22/2023, 12:33 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Today Collin Morikawa is happier than he was while playing in the Ryder Cup. The sting of that loss there is compensated today. Morikawa, who is among the big names in the league but has been searching for another win, finally got his desire fulfilled in Japan by winning the Zozo Championship.

After he won, Collin was covered by the media nonstop and gave many interviews. However, there is another player in the game who may not have won but also achieved a big feat.

Along with Collin Morikawa, fellow PGA Tour player shines in Japan

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In 2021, Morikawa had his last win at the Open Championship in Britain. It was a big achievement for the then 24-year-old golfer for whom it was the second major championship win of his career. But after that, he became a victim of a winless drought. Despite trying hard at all the PGA Tour events, he just couldn’t come up with another victory, but that changed today.

Maintaining good and low scores from the first round, his weekly score was a 72-hole total of 14-under 266. But Morikawa is not the only one who is enjoying a breakthrough today. For PGA Tour rookie Eric Cole, this is a big day too.

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Giving a tough competition to Morikawa, Cole was searching for his maiden victory at the Zozo Championship. Although he couldn’t find it, he did finish T2 at the game. Cole is projected to break into the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time following his T2 finish! A pretty remarkable achievement considering that he earned his first ranking points when he was 31.

He entered the event this week with a +3500 odds to win after his 3rd finish last week at the Shriners Children’s Open. He was among the best bets to win. However, he is returning home as the second best with a bonus.

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Eric Cole shines in his rookie year

This is the rookie year for Eric Cole, who has been playing on the Korn Ferry Tour and Minor League Golf Tour before this. And on the latter Cole has won 56 tournaments. This year has been going well for him. His last week’s performance at the Shriners Open and this week in Japan brought him a sweet perk in terms of rankings.

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As for Morikawa, this victory is very special on a personal level as his father is Japanese. Winning in his homeland he said, “I knew at the beginning of the week that the fans out here are obviously rooting for the Japanese players, but I like to count myself as a part Japanese player in that, so I felt the love,” he said.

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Written by:

Shafaque Taha

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Shafaque Taha is a senior golf writer at EssentiallySports. Combining her knowledge from her master's degree in English literature with her passion for the sport, she now looks to bring words to life for readers with her niche golf coverage. Her love for the sport stems from the calming greens and the rush of adrenaline one feels when on them, and she especially enjoys watching LPGA Tour professionals in action.
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Edited by:

Stefan Thomas

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