Collin Morikawa’s opening round at the PGA Championship was going so well until the last hole.
It was an odd day at Quail Hollow as most of the pre-tournament favorites, like Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, struggled in the tricky conditions.
The first page of the leaderboard is completely absent of superstars, with European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald possibly the biggest name.
Morikawa had the opportunity to change that until an incredible mistake on the 18th hole arguably cost him two shots.
Collin Morikawa ended PGA Championship first round with nightmare hole
Morikawa drove the ball into the rough on the 18th hole at Quail Hollow, with trees blocking his approach to the green.
Instead of “taking his medicine” by chipping the ball onto the fairway and trying to get up and down, he attempted an outrageous slice.
Unfortunately, the ball barely moved from left to right and went straight into the water running down the left side of the hole.
The Sky Sports Golf commentators in the United Kingdom could not believe Morikawa made such a poor decision.
Andrew Coltart asked: “What was Morikawa doing there?” 20-time LPGA Tour winner Dame Laura Davies replied: “That was extraordinary. I have no idea.”
“He can’t have been trying to cut that from that lie,” said Nick Dougherty, before Davies added: “He was. He must’ve been.”
Dougherty then explained why Morikawa made the wrong decision: “It’s nearly impossible to put the shape on the ball, to put the spin on the ball to curve it when you’re coming from a lie like that. And of course, he knows that. Two pretty awful errors from two pretty quality players.”
Davies commented minutes later: “I don’t know what Collin is doing here. He’s making life more difficult.”
The 28-year-old took a drop and made a double bogey, finishing the day on a respectable one under par, but it should have been at least one stroke better.
PGA Championship fans could not believe Collin Morikawa’s 18th hole mistake
Golf fans were equally perplexed by Morikawa’s second shot on the 18th hole as the Sky Sports commentators.
One PGA Championship viewer commented on social media: “What on Earth did Morikawa just do? What was he even trying to do?”
“One of the sillier decisions I have ever seen from Morikawa there on 18,” another added.
“This could put a significant damper on an otherwise great round. Again, zero clue what the goal was there, but he’s gotta recover from it now,” tweeted a Morikawa fan.
The good news for the world number four is that he didn’t have to play any more holes on Thursday after his nightmare on the 18th.
He still shot an impressive score on a difficult day and is only six shots behind overnight leader Jhonattan Vegas with three rounds to play.
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