A Lot at Stake For Cal Alum Collin Morikawa at Tour Championship

A year ago at the Tour Championship, Collin Morikawa played two strokes better than Scottie Scheffler and still couldn’t beat him.

Morikawa won’t have to overcome the starting strokes that gave Scheffler a six-stroke lead in 2024 before either player swung a club at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

Starting strokes aren’t part of the format this year at the final leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. But beating the world’s No. 1 player will be tougher than ever for Morikawa, the 28-year-old Cal grad.

The season-ending Tour Championship gets under way Thursday with the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup playoffs vying for a $40 million total purse, including a $10 million first prize.

While Scheffler has seemed almost unbeatable at times this season — overcoming a four-stroke deficit last Sunday to win the BMW Championship, Morikawa has played well in stretches but not consistently enough to win a tournament since October 2023.

His head-to-head record vs. Scheffler tells the story of this season. Since the Masters, Scheffler has finished ahead of Morikawa in the past nine tournaments they both played. The two-time major winner has used five different caddies since April.

Scheffler is the heavy betting favorite this week at plus-150, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Morikawa is far down the list at plus-3000.

Morikawa tees off Thursday with Viktor Hovland at 9 a.m. PT. Scheffler and second-ranked Rory McIlroy are the final pairing of the day at 11 a.m.

There is more at stake this weekend than the Tour Championship’s big prize money. The final six spots on the U.S. Ryder Cup team will be chosen by team captain Keegan Bradley next Wednesday, joining six who earned automatic bids based on their Ryder Cup points totals — Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau .

Morikawa, who is eighth in those standings, seems a likely choice, based on his past success in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup international events. That's how Joel Beall of Golf Digest sees it.

“While Morikawa may hate all caddies and media (this is a joke Collin, please don't tweet at me), he's been just OK enough in the playoffs to justify the pick when you consider his experience,” Beall wrote..

Paolo Uggetti of ESPN shares Beall’s view. 

“I think Ryder Cup experience would outweigh recent form if ever so slightly,” he wrote. “Match play is now not a part of the PGA Tour and having to play that format with the energy of thousands of fans surrounding you, there's something to be said for not being overwhelmed by the moment because you have already experienced it. 

"It's why players such as (Patrick) Cantlay and Morikawa are likely going to get the nod despite not playing their best golf as of late.”

The Ryder Cup, a team competition pitting the U.S. vs. Europe, will be held at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, NY, from Sept. 26-28.