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HISTORIC! Collin Morikawa on Course to Match a Staggering Tiger Woods Record

Published 07/16/2021, 8:02 AM EDT

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via Reuters

Collin Morikawa. That’s it. That’s the tweet. This is exactly what ‘The Open Championship’s’ Twitter handle posted after the 24-year-old’s blistering second round at the 2021 Open. Morikawa is taking the Royal St.George’s by storm and he will soon join Tiger Woods as a history maker on the professional tour! 

The PGA Tour only began recording strokes gained statistics a few years ago. This metric largely breaks down a player’s game on the golf course. Furthermore, the Strokes Gained: Approach-to-Green has been tracked since 2004 and only Tiger Woods has recorded an entire year where he averaged more than +1.5 strokes in his approach to the green. 

In fact, Tiger Woods averaged +1.5 strokes gained from approach shots in three separate years. Now, this is not at all an easy stat to accumulate. Woods is the only golfer to ever do this. No other player except Woods has finished a season with ‘SG: approach-to-green’ with an average of over +1.5, but Collin Morikawa can soon fill that void. 

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Morikawa is currently averaging +1.502 in ‘SG: Approach’ this year. A lot of it can be credited to his impeccable iron game and Morikawa currently leads the PGA Tour in this metric. But the astonishing part is that Moriawka leads the lot with +1.502, and is .595 strokes ahead of any other player! 

The looks of this seem like Collin Morikawa is headed towards a very special future on the PGA Tour. He is already right on course to match Tiger Woods in this insane record. Furthermore, he is garnering extreme attention at The Open Championship 2021. 

via Reuters

Collin Morikawa goes on a birdie spree in Round 2 at The Open Championship 2021

Collin Morikawa set the field on fire during Round 2 at The Open Championship 2021. Morikawa, who’s making his debut at the major, opened with two birdies in the first five holes. 

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A lot of his success can be attributed to his approach play. Morikawa found massive confidence with his irons and flawlessly dominated with his approach to the greens. He displayed a 57.14% driving accuracy in Round 2 but made up for the missed fairways with terrific approach shots. 

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Morikawa opened with a 3-under-67 in Round 1 and followed up with a 6-under-64 in Round 2. He came agonizingly close to matching the majors low round record of 62, but the 2020 PGA Championship winner has placed himself in contention with his second-round performance. 

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Collin Morikawa seems to be enjoying his game at Royal St.George’s. Do you reckon he will pick up his second major championship at this venue?

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Written by:

Arjun Athreya

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Arjun Athreya is a senior writer at Essentially Sports and has been contributing since early 2020. Having developed an avid interest in sports at an early age, he pursued a Journalism degree and graduated from Madras Christian College. Arjun manages the Golf division and its content, and primarily covers news pertaining to the NBA as well.
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