Collin Morikawa claimed a first PGA Tour title since 2023 with a dramatic one-stroke victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with Scottie Scheffler threatening a historic comeback.
Starting Sunday second behind Akshay Bhatia, Morikawa fell further behind with a slow start to his final round at Pebble Beach Golf Links, where tee times were pushed forward due to the threat of inclement weather.
The two-time major champion made the turn in 34 and moved to the top of a congested leaderboard by following a 10-foot birdie at the 11th with back-to-back wins at the 15th, giving him a two-shot lead with two to play.
Morikawa recovered from a bogey on the par-three 17th to birdie the par-five last, pressing in from close range to complete a five-under 67 and finish on 22 under ahead of Min Woo Lee and Sepp Straka.
Scheffler carded a round-of-the-day 63 to move into joint fourth with Tommy Fleetwood and close out an 18th consecutive top-10 finish on the PGA Tour as Rory McIlroy ended his title defense with an eight-under 64 to claim a share of 14th place.
How Scheffler threatened a historic comeback
Scheffler was 13 strokes off the halfway lead and eight back heading into the final day, where he raced up the leaderboard by holed a 15-footer at the first, eagled the par-five next and collected another shot at the par-4 third.
He responded to missing a close birdie chance at the fourth by holeing out from 15 feet to save par at the next and make an eagle at the par-five sixth, then canceled out a birdie at the par-three seventh with a bogey at the next to card a front-nine 30.
Scheffler has not finished outside the top 10 on the PGA Tour since The Players last March
Scheffler made back-to-back birdies from the 10th to briefly get within one of the lead and bounced back from a bogey at the 12th by carding a par on the next, with the world No.1 taking advantage of the par-five 14th to move into a share of the lead.
A poor bogey on the 15th and missed opportunities over the next two holes left Scheffler requiring an eagle on the final hole, which he delivered after landing a spectacular iron shot to within three feet of the hole.
“I had to do something special today to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said. “I played really aggressive, a little more aggressive than maybe I normally am, so a couple of bogeys on the card.
“I’ve felt like I’ve been fighting all week just to give myself a chance and then to have some special things happen today and put myself in the clubhouse with a chance is always nice.”
Morikawa holds a bundle leaderboard
Three other players were still on the course at 20 under when Scheffler made his eagle finish, with Morikawa, Jacob Bridgeman and Sam Burns having five, four and three holes to play respectively.
Morikawa got up and down from off the green to scramble pars at the 13th and 14th before holing from 30 feet to edge in front at the par-four next, then undid his birdie at the 16th by bogeying the par-three next.
The numbers behind Collin Morikawa’s victory
Lee birdied four of his last six holes to put the clubhouse at 21 under and move level with Morikawa, who faced a 19-minute wait to play his approach shot into the par-five last as the group in front struggled to finish the hole.
Morikawa found the right edge of the green and limped a putt from the fringe to a foot of the target, then chipped in to claim a first PGA Tour title since the Zozo Championship in Japan in October 2023.
Scorecard from Morikawa’s last round
Lee was joined on 21 under by Straka after the Austrian played his last three holes in four under, with Fleetwood birdieing four of his last six holes to join Scheffler two strokes behind Morikawa.
“I kept believing in myself,” Morikawa said. “This didn’t feel possible at the beginning of the week, but with the right steps and faith, I was able to put one foot in front of the other, hit some great shots and make some great putts.”
Burns led shortly after with six birdies in his first 13 holes but bogeyed the par-three 17th to finish tied for sixth with overnight leader Akshay Bhatia as Bridgeman bogeyed two of his last three holes to drop back into a share of eighth.
McIlroy had eight birdies in his only bogey-free round of the week, including four in a five-hole stretch on his front nine, with the world No. 2 – who finished five shots back – pleased with his play heading into a busy stretch of the PGA Tour season.
Rory McIlroy carded rounds of 68, 67, 72 and 64 during his title defence, after winning by two shots at last year’s event
“There were a couple of destructive tee shots yesterday, but everything feels in pretty good shape,” McIlroy said. “But overall some really good stuff this week and I’m definitely pretty pumped going into next week.”
What’s next?
The PGA Tour will be in California for the Genesis Invitational, another Signature Event, with Tiger Woods’ foundation hosting the event at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
Ludvig Åberg returns as defending champion, with early coverage live on Thursday from 3.15pm on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 9pm. Get Sky Sports or stream without a contract on NOW.
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