Collin Morikawa seals victory in Japan with TaylorMade

Collin Morikawa secured his sixth PGA Tour victory when he lifted the ZOZO trophy in Japan, while Adrian Meronk also tasted victory on the DP World Tour in Spain.

Johnny Percival

23 Oct 2023

A busy weekend of golf saw both Collin Morikawa and Adrian Meronk add to their respective win tallies with victories in both Japan and Spain.

After leading in round one of the ZOZO Championship, Morikawa, 26, had to battle the elements in the second round, dropping back down the leaderboard.

However, the Japanese winds didn't deter the two-time major champion, and he bounced back in the third and fourth rounds, shooting back-to-back rounds in the 60s at the weekend, with a scintillating 7-under 63 in the final round to finish with a commanding six-shot lead over fellow American's Eric Cole and Beau Hossler.

Morikawa got his final round off to a blistering start with four birdies on the front nine before stamping his authority on the day by picking up two additional shots on the 12th and 15th, followed by finishing the round in style by holing a birdie putt on the 18th to seal the victory.

The win marks Morikawa's first on the PGA Tour since the Open Championship in 2021, ending a 27-month victory drought.

In typical Morikawa form, his TaylorMade irons and MG4 wedges proved to be the difference maker. He found 73.6% of greens in regulation throughout the week despite only managing to find the fairway with 36.5 of his tee shots.

Morikawa's six-shot victory was the largest in tournament history, and he now joins an esteemed group of champions that includes Tiger Woods and home favourite Hideki Matsuyama.

The taste of victory @AdrianMeronk #EDAM2023 pic.twitter.com/oT8UfLF49N
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 22, 2023

Elsewhere on the DP World Tour, Poland's Adrian Meronk secured his fourth title on the European Tour and his third of the season at the Andalucia Masters in Spain.

Coming only weeks after he missed out on a spot in Luke Donald's Ryder Cup team, Meronk, 30, produced a stunning final-round comeback to secure a dramatic one-shot victory over Germany's Matthias Schmid.

Meronk shot back-to-back 6-under 66s on both Saturday and Sunday to chase down the leaders.

Things were looking bleak for Meronk early in his final round, as he saw himself drop two shots in the first three holes. However, he rallied well to finish the back nine with two eagles on the 6th and 9th to bring him back into contention.

He then made four birdies on the back nine to eventually overtake Schmid after the German stuttered with a bogey on the 16th, handing the lead to Meronk.

The win now takes Meronk to third in the Race to Dubai standings, with only Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy ahead of him as the season enters its final weeks.