Collin Morikawa Winds Up Tied for 22nd Place at St. Jude

Whatever momentum Collin Morikawa generated for the FedEx Cup playoffs during the first two days of the St. Jude Championship was lost this weekend.

Morikawa, who shot 9 under par and was tied for third place through 36 holes, played the final 36 at 3 over, including a 71 in Sunday’s final round at TPC Southwind in Memphis. That left the 28-year-old Cal grad at minus-6 for 72 holes and tied for 22nd place.

Because Morikawa entered the week ranked No. 19 in the FedEx Cup standings, he already was mathematically assured of spot in next week’s second leg of the three-week playoff series, the BMW Championship outside Baltimore.

The top 50 players in the standings after Sunday advance, with Morikawa actually ascending two spots to No. 17. The top 30 after the BMW qualify for the Tour Championship in Atlanta for a first prize of $10 million.

Morikawa, who finished in a group of six players including Xander Schauffele at 22nd place, birdies his first and last holes Sunday. But he had bogeys on Nos. 10, 15 and 17, dropping him out of the top-10.

Fellow Cal grad Michael Kim also will advance to the BMW after his best round of the week on Sunday. He made four birdies over his final 11 holes and shot 3-under 67 to climb from 67th place to a tie for 59th.

NBC Sports reported early in the week that Kim needed at least a tie for 20th place to assure himself of advancing. He slipped from No. 36 in the standings to No. 42 but that’s good enough to keep him afloat for at least another week.

Justin Rose won the St Jude title over U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun by sinking an 11 1/2-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole. Both players finished 72 holes at minus-16. 

Rose, 45, made four straight birdies through the 17th to come from behind while Spaun had birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 in his final round of 65 while.

Tommy Fleetwood led through much of the back nine before a bogey on No. 17 contributed to a two-stroke swing that ultimately left him tied for third at 15. By faltering late, Fleetwood extended his streak to futility to 162 PGA Tour career events without a victory.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and reigning Tour Championship winner retains the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings after sharing third place with Fleetwood. 

With a final-round 67, Scheffler now has 12 consecutive top-8 finishes, the longest such streak by any golfer on the PGA Tour since 1973.