Collin Morikawa, in the footsteps of Tiger Woods ...

A star is born. Collin Morikawa, 23, won the PGA Championship, the first Major in a season cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was however the first time that he took the start of this Grand Slam tournament played on the formidable course of TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Not far from UC Berkeley where the young man obtained a degree in business administration. He will therefore be able to take advantage of his business courses at university to manage the nice jackpot he has just pocketed: 1,980,000 dollars.

By winning with a final score of 267 (-13) ahead of his compatriot Dustin Johnson and the Englishman Paul Casey (-11), Morikawa especially sends a strong message to the world of golf. Yes, he will have to be counted on for the next twenty years. At least.

»READ ALSO - PGA Championship: Collin Morikawa, a star is born

Its rise is simply meteoric. World No. 1 amateur in May 2018, he decided to turn professional at the very beginning of June 2019. For his first tournament among the pros on the PGA Tour, he took 14th place in the RBC Canadian Open and cashed a first check for $ 125,400. In the process, he passed the cut at the US Open on the side of Pebble Beach and followed up the performances. In a hurry apparently this Californian of Japanese origin. On his first 22 tournaments played on the US circuit, not once did he miss a weekend, at the same time approaching the record held in this area by… Tiger Woods (25). While some paddle a lifetime to win even one unfortunate tournament, he won three in less than fourteen months. The Barracuda Championship on July 28, 2019 then, more recently, the Workday Charity Open on July 12. Before his August 9 triumph at the USPGA. At 23, he entered the club of very early PGA Championship winners here, along with legends Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Rory McIlroy.

CongratulatiOH NO! # PGAChamppic.twitter.com / p6NjsSNs7G

“It's the dream of my life,” he breathes. As a kid, I watched all these players, and I knew that was what I wanted to do. An amateur golfer, I then turned pro, and coming full circle in San Francisco, almost my second home where I spent the last four years of my life, is pretty incredible. We compare a lot the beginning of my career to that of Tiger. But Tiger is a whole different level. We all know it. However, when your name is associated with very big ones like Jack, Rory or Tiger, it means that, somewhere, what you are doing is pretty good. "

Its strong point? The game of irons, apparently. But the mind is also one of its qualities. Essential element when you want to have a career at the highest level. Rick Sessinghaus, his coach when Morikawa was not yet 8 years old, enlightens us a little more about the specimen: “his mental composition is unparalleled. We owe it to his maturity, his ability to trust himself, even under pressure. Besides, sometimes he doesn't feel the slightest pressure. However, he must have felt it by lifting the impressive cup (the Wannamaker Cup) since the lid of it ended up falling. The only small mistake of his crazy week in Frisco!