Collin Morikawa may solely shake his head after chipping in for birdie on the thirteenth.
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Most optimistic golf acts are intentional — a shot to that aspect of the golf green, a well-struck method to that shelf on the inexperienced, a putt to interrupt at that ridge.
However some optimistic golf acts, Collin Morikawa realized on Sunday morning, are a matter of destiny.
On Sunday on the RBC Heritage, the two-time main champ found certainly one of his profession’s most nice surprises — an motion that was neither intentional nor good … and but resulted in a birdie nonetheless.
It was there, on the brief par-4 thirteenth, that Morikawa confronted a chip shot from the sting of a greenside bunker on an ungainly uphill slope. Because the 24-year-old surveyed the shot, he seen the downslope on the inexperienced was a hornet’s nest. The one solution to get the ball to the opening was to land it close to the opening. Something wanting that may doubtless hit the downslope and die effectively earlier than the flagstick, leaving a troublesome (and lengthy) downhill par strive.
So Morikawa lined up his shot to do precisely that, aiming for a excessive, arcing chip to chop into the inexperienced and cease shy of the opening. However when he lastly struck his ball, he instantly knew one thing was incorrect. Morikawa’s wedge reduce by the tough beneath his TaylorMade ball so effectively, it practically missed the ball altogether. As a substitute of catching the shot with the sharp, spinny grooves on the underside of the clubface, he caught it with the smaller, less-controlled grooves on the prime of it.
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Slightly than taking pictures excessive into the air, Morikawa’s ball plopped simply inches above the bottom, catching a tuft of tough on the greenside space because it rolled down towards the opening.
“Oh, he obtained beneath it,” the PGA Tour Reside commentator chided. “It must go.”
The 24-year-old recoiled, then facepalmed. His ball was about to land means wanting the opening … until?
“And it’s going … in! What a miss!” The announcer cried because the ball hit the flagstick and dropped into the opening. The gang erupted right into a cheer. It was a chip-in birdie for Collin Morikawa, and an unintentional one at that.
For his half, Morikawa couldn’t take credit score. He shook his head and supplied a sheepish wave as he retrieved his ball from the opening.
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Morikawa would go on to complete Sunday at 6 underneath, tied for thirty third and a protected distance from the lead on the RBC Heritage. Nonetheless, ought to the end result maintain, he may see an additional $2,000 in his test from this week because of the additional stroke from the unintended chip-in.
As soon as once more, in golf as in life, it’s a lot higher to be fortunate than good.
