Collin Morikawa put together a masterclass in consistency from tee to green on his way to making history by becoming the first American to win both the DP World Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai crown.
Morikawa, who is widely considered one of the best iron players in the game, admitted that he "felt really good coming into the week with my irons”, and it was something that he showcased well around the Earth Course at Jumeriah Golf Estates.
The American ranked inside the top 10 for the majority of statistics tee to green, which helped him to secure 17 birdies across the week and saw him rank second for both par four and par five scoring.
“It's special, it's an honour, really, to be the first American to do that on The European Tour to put my name against many, many great Hall of Famers, it's special. I get touched up just talking about that.”
On Sunday, Morikawa stayed patient after opening with six pars, and admitted it was the putt at the 12th that really kick-started his momentum.
“Starting off with six pars, especially with some birdie holes, wasn't fun. I felt like I was hit some good shots and I wasn't getting the breaks I needed,” said Morikawa.
“The putts weren't dropping and I just told myself when I looked at the leaderboard after nine that I was still in there and I was still two or three back at that point and I just needed one spark.
“After parring 10 and 11, after I told myself, you shouldn't have done that; I knew something had to change. And 12, got a great break, thinning my second shot, made the putt, and that got the momentum started.”
After the 12th hole, Morikawa proved why he ranked third for birdies during the week and 10th for SG: Approach the green and seventh for Greens in Regulation (79.15%). With five birdies in his closing seven holes, Morikawa produced an impressive display from tee to green, hitting his approach to eight feet at 15, from out of the fairway bunker to 20 feet at the par four 16th, to within 10 feet at the 17th and safely in to the heart of the green to set up a final closing birdie at the par five 18th.
Morikawa's impressive approach play was not limited just to his irons, however. He ranked sixth for Driving Accuracy (64.29%), sixth for Strokes Gained: Around the Green (gaining 0.46 shots over the field average), eighth for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (gaining 0.57 strokes), and 14th for Strokes Gained: Putting (gaining 0.62 strokes)
Below, take a look at the key statistics from his victory in Dubai.
The Key Statistics
Click here for a full summary of statistics
1st: Scrambling (80%)
2nd: Par 5 Scoring (4.38)
2nd: Par 4 Scoring (3.83)
3rd: Birdies
3rd: SG: Tee to Green (+1.87)
6th: Driving Accuracy (64.29%)
6th: SG: Around the Green (+0.46)
7th: GIR (79.15%)
8th: SG: Off the Tee (+0.85)
10th: SG: Approach the Green (+0.57)
14th: SG: Putting (+0.62)
