ON THE ASIAN TOUR
COLLIN MORIKAWA : CLASSY FIRST WGC WIN
American star Collin Morikawa won
the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession Golf Club , in Florida , by shooting a three-under-par 69 to finish at 18 under – three ahead of countrymen Billy Horschel and Brooks Koepka and Norwegian Viktor Hovland .
Following a first round 70 on Thursday , Morikawa went on to birdie 20 of his next 45 holes to impressively pull away from the elite field and claim his first title since last August ’ s PGA Championship .
“ It shows that I can come out here and compete ,” said Morikawa , after his fourth PGA Tour win in just 39 starts .
“ What a week . I was working on so much over the last couple of weeks … My game felt so good . I ’ m so excited right now .”
With much of the field dressed in red and black to honor Tiger Woods , after his near-fatal car crash earlier this week ,
LIANG WEN-CHONG WINNING ON AND OFF THE COURSE
Former Asian Tour number one Liang
Wen-chong , from China , has called for “ everyone to work together to fight off the pandemic ”, and has taken a safe and sensible approach to the life-changing developments caused by COVID-19 .
Speaking from his home in Hengdian , Zhejiang Province , China ― where he is
26 GolfPlus MARCH 2021
“ Tiger means everything to me , Yes , he had the crash , thankfully he ’ s all right and hopefully he has a quick and great recovery .
Morikawa was emotional in the end after his victory .
“ Tiger means everything to me ,” said the 24-year-old . “ Yes , he had the crash , thankfully he ’ s all
currently celebrating the Lunar New Year with family and friends - he said : “ In what has been a season of rest , for most of last year , I told myself to stay positive . The pandemic is something that will catch you off guard , but it has since become a norm for most . What we need to do is to adapt to it and make changes right and hopefully he has a quick and great recovery . I don ’ t think we can say thank you enough . I want to say thank you to Tiger … Sometimes you lose people too early . You don ’ t get to say thank you enough .”
to our daily lives .
“ It ’ s a new knowledge , so we need to have patience and face it with determination . Everyone needs to work together to fight off the pandemic , hoping life will return to usual in the near future .
“ Thanks to this pandemic , I have learned how important it is to stay physically fit . Regular exercise can improve your resistance to virus . Therefore , golf is a good option too .”
The 42-year-old played in the Asian Tour events at the start of last year , before the pandemic hit , and was able to compete in a couple of events in Japan , at the end of the year .
“ In what has been a season of rest , for most of last year , I told myself to stay positive ”.
He succeeded his mentor Zhang Lian-wei ― China ’ s pioneering first worldclass player ― by recording achievements after achievements , including : winning three times on the Asian Tour ; claiming two titles in Japan ; becoming the first player from the mainland to compete in the US PGA Championship ; and , at the Open in 2008 , becoming the first Chinese golfer to make the cut at a Major .