Jon Rahm stuns Collin Morikawa with Sunday birdie barrage to claim Sentry glory

The opening PGA Tour event of the year ended in dramatic fashion as Collin Morikawa surrendered a large lead in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, with Jon Rahm taking advantage.

It seemed Morikawa would take the title when he entered the final round at the Plantation Course in Hawaii with a six-shot lead. The Californian, a best-price 1-6 going into Sunday, was eight shots ahead of Rahm after the Spaniard bogeyed the first hole. Morikawa was matched at 1.02 on Betfair when he led the field by seven shots.

Morikawa covered the first six holes in three under par, seemingly cruising to victory, but a burst of Rahm brilliance transformed the tournament. The Spaniard, a general pre-tournament 6-1 favourite, made eight birdies from the second hole through the 14th, then caught Morikawa with an eagle at the 15th.

Morikawa, having been well clear all weekend, suddenly had company, and the pressure told on the 14th hole. He thinned a bunker shot through the green and made bogey there, duffed a chip to the right of the 15th and made another bogey, then completed a sorry hat-trick of drop-shots when spinning his approach off the green at the 16th.

Morikawa birded the 18th, but was defeated by two shots. Rahm has won three of his last five tournaments, following success in the Spanish Open and the DP World Tour Championship.

This week features the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi on the DP World Tour and the Sony Open in Hawaii on the PGA Tour. The Hero sees a Continental Europe side go up against a Great Britain and Ireland one in a Ryder Cup style contest. GB&I are 4-5 favourites, with Europe available at 11-8.

Defending Sony Open champion Hideki Matsuyama will have Jordan Spieth among his adversaries at Waialae Country Club, Honolulu.

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