It’s been a big week for La Cañada Flintridge native Collin Morikawa.
After competing in the final leg of the FedEx Cup of the two-day golf Tour Championship and securing his biggest payout since 2021, the 26-year-old La Cañada High School alum on Tuesday was named to the U.S. Team as captain’s pick for the 44th Ryder Cup set for late September.
It will be his second time participating in the biennial tournament since debuting in 2021.
This year’s competition will be held from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome. The tournament pits the U.S. representatives against their European counterparts.
Morikawa, a two-time major champion, joins Sam Burns, Rickie Flower, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas as the other captain’s picks, selected by Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson.
The U.S. team has six golfers listed in the top 10 of the PGA’s official world golf ranking. The rest of the Ryder Cup team includes No. 1-ranked PGA golfer Scottie Scheffler, U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (No. 10), British Open champion Brian Harman (No. 9), Patrick Cantlay (No. 5), Xander Schauffele (No. 6), Max Homa (No. 7).
Selections for team Europe will be finalized on Monday, Sept. 4, however, Jon Rahm (No. 3), Rory McIlroy (No. 2), Viktor Hovland (No. 4) and Tyrrell Hatton are part of the group as automatic qualifiers. Luke Donald is the team’s captain.
The United States won the 2021 edition of the Ryders Cup at Whistling Straits. Seven players from the winning side are part of the current group.
The selection comes after another top-10 performance from Morikawa.
Morikawa, who competed at the collegiate level at University of California, Berkeley, and was a Pac-12 All-American, finished 11 under par, missing out on the FedEx Cup title at the end of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Sunday.
Morikawa started the competition well with scores of 61 and 64 in the first two rounds of the Tour Championship. He shot 73 and 72 in the final two rounds of the tournament, falling short of the FedEx Cup title and finishing in a three-way tie for sixth with Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup teammate Scheffler.
Morikawa cashed out at $2 million, while Viktor Hovland banked $18 million as winner of the competition.
It’s the biggest prize Morikawa has picked up since winning the British Open Championship in 2021, taking home $2,070,000 at the time. He previously hit a seven-figure payout earlier this year when he finished second at the Sentry Tournament of Champions for a $1,500,000 check. He’s earned seven-figure prizes on six other occasions.
During his time at La Cañada High, Morikawa powered the Spartans to four Rio Hondo League championships.
First published in the August 31 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
