When Collin Morikawa had finally finished dismantling the field and the course on Sunday at the PGA Championship, he picked up the Wanamaker trophy and made it a clean sweep.
The 23-year-old phenom had just clinched his first major championship, besting a leaderboard filled to the brim with a half-dozen of golf’s biggest names. He had deconstructed the greens at Harding Park, which had eluded many of the 163 players currently ranked above him in Strokes Gained: Putting all week. And so, as he reached for the trophy having claimed a two-stroke victory at 13 under par, it was only fitting that he’d do the same.
In one motion, Morikawa hoisted the trophy over his shoulders. And in one motion, the giant, silver lid flipped off the trophy and fell loudly onto the ground.
Morikawa gave a mortified grimace, Jim Nantz laughed audibly on the broadcast, social media rejoiced.
If there’s one thing Morikawa can hang his hat on, it’s that he’s not the only person to have a trophy celebration blunder with the Wanamaker. As our Sean Zak keenly pointed out, Rory McIlroy also stood in horror as the trophy’s lid popped off following his 2014 PGA win in Valhalla.
After the round (and ceremony) were over, Morikawa insisted that first-time jitters weren’t to blame for his trophy blunder.
“Yeah, I feel very comfortable in this spot,” he said. “When I woke up today, I was like, this is meant to be. This is where I feel very comfortable. This is where I want to be, and I’m not scared [of] it.”
Indeed, it was merely a budding superstar doing what he does best: surgically, tactically dismantling everything in his path, opponents (and trophies) be damned.
“I love golf,” Morikawa said. “I love every part of it. I love being in this position and I love just being able to come out here and play with a bunch of guys that love the sport, too, and that’s why I think I love being in this position.”
