RENO, Nev. – Collin Morikawa, the only four-time All-American in the history of Cal men's golf, needed fewer than two months as a professional to win his first PGA TOUR event on Sunday at the Barracuda Open. Morikawa's victory came in only his sixth PGA TOUR start since turning pro following the end of his final collegiate season at Cal in May.

The victory also marked Morikawa's third consecutive finish in the top four of a PGA TOUR event after showings of tied for second at the 3M Open and tied for fourth at the John Deere Classic in his previous two starts.

"I think I'm ready; this proves that I am ready," Morikawa said after the win. "To get this first win off my back means a lot. It's going to open just a lot more confidence and doors for me."

"It's an incredible day for Collin," Cal's Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golfer Walter Chun said. "Talk about being relentless. When he turned pro, he was determined to secure his PGA TOUR status for next season, and he accomplished that after the John Deere. His next goal was to get into the FedEx Cup playoffs. He had to win to do it, and he did that. That's being relentless in his pursuit of his goals."

Morikawa started Sunday's fourth and final round in third place and did not take his first lead until making the first of three consecutive birdies to end his round on the par-three 16th. Second-place finisher Troy Merritt would briefly regain the lead when he birdied the par-four 15th hole just after Morikawa had made his birdie on 16 but Morikawa answered with a 30-foot putt for birdie on the par-four 17 and put additional distance between himself and Merritt with another birdie on the par-five 18th. Merritt still had an opportunity to beat Morikawa with an eagle on his final hole but made par.

Morikawa (+47) ended up three points ahead of Merritt (+44) in the Modified Stableford scoring format that awards eight points for a double eagle, five for an eagle and two for a birdie. A par is worth no points while players lose one point for a bogey and three for a double bogey or worse. Morikawa had seven birdies and 11 pars on Sunday to score +14. He finished the 72-hole tournament with 44 pars, 25 birdies and three bogeys.

Morikawa is now 46th in the FedExCup and assured of starts in each of the first two playoff events.

In his first event as a professional, he qualified for the U.S. Open by finishing tied for seventh at a Sectional Qualifying event in Columbus, Ohio. He then tied for 14th at the RBC Canadian Open in his first PGA TOUR event as a pro followed by a tied for 35th place showing at the U.S. Open in which his back nine five-under par 31 in the fourth and final round was the best in the elite field, and tied for 36th at the Travelers Championship before his current three-tournament run.

Morikawa is the 10th former Cal player to win a professional event with the group combining for 29 victories and the fourth on the PGA TOUR to win a total of five events all in the last four years. James Hahn broke through as Cal's first PGA TOUR winner when he captured the Northern Trust Open in 2015 and won again at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2017. Michael Kim was a winner at the John Deere Classic in 2018 before Max Homa (Wells Fargo Championship) and Morikawa have won in 2019.

"It's been a great year for the program to have Max and Collin win on the PGA TOUR this season," Chun said. "They are providing inspiration to all the players within the Cal golf program that it's doable out there, but you have to first believe in yourself and then have to put in the hours."