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Collin Morikawa could do something this week that only Tiger Woods accomplished more quickly

December 02, 2021
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Collin Morikawa could become the new World No. 1 with a win at this week's Hero World Challenge. And if that sounds like it would mark a really quick ascension to the top spot, that's because it would be.

Official World Golf Ranking guru Nosferatu on Twitter pointed out Morikawa's chance this week—as well as the fact that he would become the second-fastest golfer to reach that position. Who was the fastest? Tiger Woods, who is playing host in the Bahamas.

Not exactly a stunning answer considering all the crazy stats Tiger has compiled in his career, but it's been a pretty stunning rise for Morikawa since turning pro in June of 2019. As this chart shows, the 24-year-old is only making his 61st start as a pro this week:

As you can see, Morikawa, currently No. 2 in the OWGR behind Jon Rahm, would get to No. 1 even quicker than Jordan Spieth, who needed only 77 starts. Tiger? He needed just 21 starts to first get to the top spot of the ranking that has existed since 1986. Pretty remarkable.

Morikawa nearly matched another one of his idol's marks last year when he began his pro career with 22 consecutive made cuts. Woods holds the record with 25.

Morikawa most recently won the DP World Tour Championship to become the first American to win the European Tour's season-long Race to Dubai. He also won twice on the PGA Tour this year to run his (early) career total to five titles. He is currently the favorite to win this week at Draftkings.

Even if he doesn't win the Hero, though, it will have still been a successful week for Morikawa in the Bahamas. The two-time major champ made a major life move by getting engaged on the eve of the tournament. And at this rate, we'd say the odds are pretty good he'll reach No. 1 before the wedding takes place.