The heartbreaks were well documented for Collin Morikawa.
After becoming just the third player to win a pair of majors before age 25, along with Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus, Morikawa hit a wall. His only win since the 2021 British Open was the 2023 Zozo Championship in Japan, 848 days ago. And he hadn’t won on U.S. soil since the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship.
His career seemingly began to sputter at the 2021 Hero World Challenge. With the chance to become world No. 1, he fumbled a five-stroke lead with a final-round 76. Thirteen months later at Kapalua, Morikawa tied the largest 54-hole collapse in PGA Tour history after starting Sunday with a six-shot advantage that extended to nine early in the round. Plus, there was also a playoff loss at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic and last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational slipped out of his grasp in the last two holes.
Yet, he always believed in himself. And now, those shortcomings are in the rearview.
The 29-year-old withstood a jam-packed leaderboard in blustery conditions to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in his home state, finishing at 22 under par for a one-stroke victory over Min Woo Lee and Sepp Straka.
MORE: Final results, payouts from AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
“It was never in the dreams, honestly. Pebble Beach was always a course that just wanted to come and play and you wanted to come and play against the pros and play against the best in the world,” Morikawa said after the win. “I’m slowly trying to just smile now because I think the tears are going away.”
One of the sport’s premier iron players, Morikawa entered the final round two strokes off the lead after a third-round 62 in which he hit every green in regulation and had the best ball-striking round of his career.
TOUR win No. 7!@Collin_Morikawa conquers Pebble Beach and wins @ATTProAm. pic.twitter.com/q4oDfOI6Fa
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 15, 2026
Morikawa’s climb up the leaderboard on Sunday began by shooting 2 under on the front, while 54-hole leader Akshay Bhatia relinquished his advantage with a 1-over first nine (he finished T6, shooting even par).
Quickly ascending, though, was world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who started the day nine back, but would grab the clubhouse lead at 20 under with a final-round 63, the low round of the day, that included three eagles, one of which came on the par-5 18th.
But with several holes still to play after Scheffler signed his scorecard, Morikawa, leading the field in strokes-gained approach, knew that a few birdies could be the difference. His first after making the turn came at the par-4 11th, rolling in a 10-footer. Then, the victory was in his hands with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th and another birdie a hole later. A bogey on the par-3 17th, though, dropped him into a tie with Lee, who fired a final-round 65.
So, needing at least a birdie on the last, Morikawa hit his drive in the fairway and put his approach on the fringe of the green, 26 feet from the hole. He putted to a foot and tapped in for his seventh PGA Tour title.
Moments after on the 18th green, Morikawa’s winner’s interview with CBS went exactly as he hoped.
“Golf aside, we’re expecting later this year, in a few months, and we just started telling people this week,” he said. “We said, ‘What better way, the best way to announce it to the world if I was able to win.’”
And with the next phase of his personal life on the horizon, has he unlocked newfound success on the course, too?
“I hope so, but I’m going to try and stay as in the moment as I can,” he said. “I think I look back when I first turned pro and I had some wins, I just looked too far ahead. Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s not. I think I’m going to change that perspective and just enjoy where I’m at right now.”
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- Scottie Scheffler Keeps Notable Streak Alive With Electric Sunday 63 at Pebble Beach
- 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Final Payouts, Prize Money, Winnings
- 2026 Genesis Invitational Full Field: Signature Event Returns to Riviera
- Golf World Loved Seeing Anthony Kim’s Miraculous Comeback LIV Golf Win in Adelaide
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Collin Morikawa Ends Winless Drought on Blustery Sunday at Pebble Beach.
