2021 Memorial Tournament: Top 10 power rankings at Muirfield Village

Collin Morikawa sparkled in his first time around Muirfield Village. Although the Workday Charity Open presented more benign conditions than the Memorial Tournament annually does, Morikawa still looked the part of worthy champion as he surged past Justin Thomas to win in a thrilling three-hole playoff full of long putts drained.

The Californian posted 65-66-72-66 to take the title in 2020.

He ran out of gas next week at the Memorial but still grinded out T-48th (76-70-73-77) in what was his fifth straight tournament in a row after the pandemic hiatus.

“From the moment I stepped on this course, I kind of fell in love,” Morikawa was quoted by ASAP Sports before the 2020 Memorial. “I thought a lot of tee shots fit my eye, everything, approach shots, so I knew it was going to be a really good course, whether I played well or not.”

Morikawa is a winner in 2021 at the WGC-Workday Charity Open. He ought to have a Workday sponsorship coming soon, right? The 24-year-old has been consistent since he stepped out on Tour in 2019. Morikawa owns five top-10s in 10 worldwide starts in 2021 and hasn’t missed a cut since October.

He played well at the majors with T-18th at the Masters and T-8th in his title defense at the PGA Championship. Morikawa posted three rounds in the 60s last week en route to T-14th at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

This will be his third event in a row, albeit after three of four weeks off prior to the PGA.

Morikawa ranks first on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach (1.434), SG tee to green (1.875) and greens in regulation (72.22%).