The PGA Tour restart recap: Who stood out?
By Bill Felber
8. Collin Morikawa, -0.16
7. Viktor Hovland, -0.35
By most measures, Morikawa had the best record on the post-restart swing. He was the only two-time champion, and one of those victories came at the season’s only major to date, the PGA Championship. He also lost in a playoff at the Schwab.
That’s three strong showings. But Morikawa’s rating is dragged down by a statistically bad missed cut at the Travelers, as well as by a very lukewarm tie for 64th at the RBC Heritage.
Of his seven starts, that leaves only two fitting somewhere between the extremes of very good and very bad. Morikawa tied for 20th at the WGC FedEx and for 48th at the Memorial.
The sum total is a record that looks like it ought to rank higher than it actually does.
Like McIlroy, Hovland failed to win any of his seven starts, but also like McIlroy he never experienced a true clunker, either. His best showing was a solo third at the Workday when Morikawa passed him on Sunday and then survived a playoff with Justin Thomas to win.
It was Hovland’s only top 10, but he came close twice. His 267 at the Travelers was worth a tie for 11th, and he tied for 12th behind Bryson DeChambeau at the Rocket Mortgage.
Hovland’s other finishes included a tie for 21st at the RBC Heritage, for 33rd at the PGA, for 48th at the Memorial and for 59th at the WGC FedEx.