Collin Morikawa is golf's newest superstar after superb US PGA win

Collin Morikawa lifts the Wanamaker TrophyGetty Images

After a flawless final round, Collin Morikawa's only blemish came when managed to drop the lid as he lifted the Wanamaker Trophy

By Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent

Collin Morikawa is golf's newest superstar after his sensational win at a superb US PGA, but the championship also reminded us of the transient nature of apparent invincibility.

Describing the moments Morikawa surged to his winning position, seizing the moment and, in the process, the Wanamaker Trophy, felt quite familiar.

The charismatic 23-year-old's delightful chip in at the 14th was followed by an audacious eagle after he despatched a glorious driver on to the 16th green. In those moments Morikawa decisively separated himself from the chasing pack.

The reason for the feeling of familiarity? Rewind to July 2017 and consider the feats of another American who, at that time, had yet to turn 24.

Jordan Spieth was in a dogfight for The Open at Royal Birkdale and the Claret Jug seemed to be slipping from his grasp. Like Morikawa last Sunday, the young Texan also hit the accelerator on the 14th hole of the final round.

He nearly holed in one and made a crucial birdie on that spectacular par three. At the next he eagled before adding birdies at the next two holes to leave Matt Kuchar trailing in a distant wake.

It was a blistering, exhilarating burst from an irrepressible young player, putting himself within one major of the career grand slam. Spieth seemed unstoppable two years on from claiming the Masters and US Open titles.

He was knocking the likes of Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson from their perches, playing fearlessly and with unerring accuracy on and around the greens.

The Open was Spieth's 14th professional win and he was still only 23. But more than three years later, the Texan's tally of tournament victories has not increased.

While Morikawa's smile lit up the golfing world last week, Spieth was grim-faced and bereft of ideas of how to arrest his decline. He finished four over par, tied 71st out of the 79 players who made the cut at Harding Park.

A day earlier he even apologised to his friend and playing partner Justin Thomas for his poor showing in a third-round 76 containing eight bogeys.

"Walking off 18, he's like, 'I'm sorry, man. I just didn't really give you any momentum,'" the world number one revealed after a round that also, effectively, put paid to his own chances of victory.

"And that's a good friend trying to take the blame," Thomas added. "All of us go through little spurts. It's just for him, this has been a tough one."

Spieth used to occupy Thomas' elevated position in the rankings, but he is now down to number 60. Form and confidence have gone, with no guarantee of returning.

He was too good to be regarded as some kind of ephemeral golfing mayfly but his current malaise must be very hard to take.

Another former world number one, David Duval, knows all about dramatic loss of form and believes Spieth's chase for greater distance has been his undoing. He traces it back to the end of 2015, the year Spieth won two majors.

"After that historic season he had, one thing I said and cautioned him and hoped he wouldn't do was chase distance," Duval said. "He came back in 2016 saying he was trying to find five or 10 yards in the offseason and I was like: 'Oh boy.'"

But that is the nature of golf. It is a constant quest to improve and sometimes this means changing processes that, in fact, need no alteration.

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Lydia Ko is ranked 41st in the world

In the women's game another former world number one, Lydia Ko, has never been the same after splitting from coach David Leadbetter at the end of 2016. The South Korean-born New Zealander was top of the rankings before her 18th birthday.

She has 20 professional wins, two of them majors, but in the past four years she has won only once on the LPGA Tour. But she should have added another triumph last Sunday and, like Spieth, she is nursing a head full of regrets.

Ko blew a five-shot lead with six to play at the LPGA Marathon Classic in Ohio. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be disappointed and go, 'Oh, man, I should have done this over that,'" she admitted.

"But when you look back at everything and you take everything apart, you're going to have so many things to think so negatively about."

Ko then talked about the "many positives", claiming she would have probably taken second place had it been offered at the start of the week.

In her golfing prime there is no way she would have entertained such a deal. Her altered mindset tells much about the unforgiving difficulty of the sport.

Back in the men's game there is a Californian kid by the name of Morikawa currently making it look particularly easy. He is a phenomenal talent, winning the US PGA on his debut in the championship in rare style.

Remember, he was still an amateur the last time this major was played, back in May 2019, but Morikawa is now achieving at a rate so extraordinary, comparisons are being drawn with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy from when they were of similar age.

This puts into perspective what this young man is accomplishing and all sorts of glories are now being predicted for someone possessing a truly potent combination of technique and temperament.

But harnessing and nurturing such talents in a game where there is such a constant appetite for improvement and change is the greatest challenge. It is why longevity of success should be so praiseworthy.

Glories are hard-earned and futures can be fragile. Morikawa may become one of the golfing greats but as Spieth and Ko can attest, there is a lot of rough and plenty of hazards to be negotiated along the way.

Golf can be brutal and every success should be celebrated and truly cherished. Morikawa is a special, special talent but it is no slight to point out there are no guarantees of greatness.