Entering the final week of seeding games in the NBA restart, teams have only a few more opportunities to improve their place in the standings.

There are still four teams pushing for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs, and it's now guaranteed that there will be a play-in series. There won't be a play-in series in the East, but seeding and matchups are still up for grabs.

To help get your ready for this stretch run, our NBA experts highlight the eight most important games that will decide the playoff picture this week in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Note: The West play-in series will feature the conference's No. 8 and No. 9 seeds on Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET, ABC). If the No. 8 seed wins, that team will advance to Round 1 to face the Los Angeles Lakers. If the No. 9 seed wins, there will be another game on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the winner of that matchup will get the final playoff spot.

MORE: Latest NBA standings

Monday and Friday: Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat

• Monday: 8 p.m. ET

• Friday: Details TBD

Two matchups between Indiana and Miami this week will go a long way toward determining whether they play each other again during the first round of the playoffs. With the 76ers' loss Sunday, both teams are a game up on the Sixers and also own head-to-head tiebreakers. The Pacers and Heat won't want to fall to sixth, which would instead mean a matchup with the Boston Celtics.

Jimmy Butler has no doubt had this rematch in mind since an altercation with T.J. Warren in January that led to the ejection of Warren, the bubble's leading scorer at 34.8 points per game. -- Kevin Pelton

Tuesday: Dallas Mavericks vs. Portland Trail Blazers

• Details: 6:30 p.m. ET | TNT

Every game is of paramount importance to Portland, as the Trail Blazers try to emerge from a pack of teams scrapping for the West's final playoff bid.

The Mavs are all but locked into the West's seventh seed, so the outcome of this game won't matter as much to them. However, Dallas does want to build momentum off of Saturday's win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis will have fresh legs after resting Monday against the Utah Jazz. -- Tim MacMahon

Tuesday: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Phoenix Suns

• Details: 4:30 p.m. ET

The darlings of the bubble, the Suns have started off 5-0 in Florida to draw within a game of Portland for the No. 9 spot in the West and can nearly taste the franchise's first postseason experience since 2010. Catching Portland would earn Phoenix a spot in the play-in series and the opportunity for a first-round series against the Lakers.

Their opponent in Philadelphia was faring well in the restart before losing Ben Simmons to a knee injury, and he's unlikely to return following surgery. Things got worse on Sunday when Joel Embiid left an eventual loss to Portland after hurting his ankle. Embiid's status for this game remains unknown. -- Dave McMenamin

Wednesday: Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers

• Details: 6:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

This game won't mean much for the Raptors, already the No. 2 seed in the East, but it could have major seeding implications for the 76ers as they try to move up into the 4/5 matchup.

Then there is the pure basketball importance, as Philadelphia needs every moment it can get on the court together as a team to figure out how to proceed without Simmons. -- Tim Bontemps

Thursday: Brooklyn Nets vs. Portland Trail Blazers

• Details: TBD

Portland's margin of error is small, and with a play-in berth potentially at stake, it will expect to win a game like this where it enters as a clear favorite.

It's a lock there will be a play-in game for the 8-seed in the West, but despite their positive bubble start, right now the Blazers are far from a sure thing to participate in it. -- Royce Young

Thursday: Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns

• Details: TBD

The hottest team in basketball -- as of Sunday -- matching up with Luka Doncic would appear to be one of the best games in the bubble, but a lot of dominoes may fall between now and then that could alter this game's appearance. Devin Booker and the Suns have to keep winning and likely will need this game to vault themselves into the play-in fray.

All signs point to the Mavs being locked into the seventh seed, thus giving coach Rick Carlisle the opportunity to rest Doncic before the playoffs begin if he so desires. In short, this game has a chance to mean everything to the Suns and nothing to the Mavs. -- Nick Friedell

Friday: Houston Rockets vs. Philadelphia 76ers

• Details: TBD

Initially, this game had the makings of a big showdown with seed-positioning ramifications on the line. But for the Sixers, health is far more important now. Perhaps they can still play their way into the 4/5 matchup and avoid a first-round meeting with Boston, but Embiid's health is the priority.

The Rockets could have more at stake. They're trying to stave off Oklahoma City and Utah -- both potential first-round opponents -- for the fourth seed but could have a shot at No. 3 depending on how Denver does this week. -- Ohm Youngmisuk

MORE: New predictions -- Which two teams will make the play-in?

We saw fighting in the time of social distancing. We saw one of Major League Baseball's most athletic players suffer through one of its most unpleasant blunders. We saw a 21-year-old superstar continue to emerge in front of our eyes. Here's a look through a wild Sunday for baseball's West teams.

First, just when it seemed that the Houston Astros couldn't possibly be any more hated, we get what appears to be one of their coaches provoking an opposing player, then hanging back and watching that player be mauled by his teammates.

The details of what occurred Sunday at RingCentral Coliseum are partly unclear and partly open to interpretation. What we know is that Oakland Athletics center fielder Ramon Laureano charged at Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron shortly after Laureano was plunked for the second time in the game and third time this weekend, and he was then promptly swarmed by several Astros players.

If you thought Joe Kelly's suspension was harsh, get ready. Major League Baseball made one thing clear when handing Kelly an eight-game suspension that translated to 22 over the course of a 162-game season: It will not tolerate on-field skirmishes in a season so dependent on abiding by protocol amid the coronavirus pandemic, especially given recent outbreaks on the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. If the target is a member of the Astros, clearly the most reviled team in the sport, the penalty will be even worse.

The irony of the Kelly situation was that a player who might have retaliated against what some consider to be baseball's worst cheating scandal received more punishment than any of the players who benefited from that scandal. In this case, Laureano will probably be punished just as much, if not more, than Cintron, whose role as a coach makes him far less valuable than an emerging catalyst. As a result, the team that might have been provoked -- a team possessing a 12-4 record and riding a nine-game winning streak -- will be more severely affected than the team that did the provoking.

A's manager Bob Melvin hopes that is not the case.

"Ramon doesn't go over there unless something completely offensive comes out of their dugout," he said. "I think the league will know who that is, and that person should get suspended."

Adell pulls a Canseco

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell ranged near the warning track at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, a stadium hosting its eighth major league game, and lost track of a fifth-inning fly ball from Nick Solak right around the time it reached its apex. Then he flipped quickly to his left. By the time he found the ball again, Adell said, "The ball was right on me, so I threw my glove out there to make the play, and it hit off the middle of my glove, and it went right over the fence."

Right. Over. The. Fence.

The baseball traveled an extra 5 or so feet after it ricocheted, with the pocket of Adell's glove in deep right field, prompting a Jose Canseco-level blooper to cap a tough first week for the 21-year-old rookie.

Adell has compiled two hits, zero walks and nine strikeouts, four of which came Sunday. On Wednesday, he took an awkward route on a fly ball in the gap and nearly collided with center fielder Mike Trout, prompting a two-run double. Four days later, he committed the most embarrassing blunder possible, Sunday's run-scoring four-base error.

Adell -- ESPN's 10th-highest rated prospect in March -- will be fine. He should be good. He might be really, really good. But the Angels didn't just option him to their alternate camp at the start of the season for service-time reasons. They legitimately needed him to tighten up his defense. When he was called up on Tuesday, Adell acknowledged that he had spent most of the previous couple of weeks reporting to the field early so he could work on reading balls off the bat and taking proper routes.

A longtime scout who has watched Adell noted how difficult it is to get one's first major league experience in unfamiliar ballparks and noted that a lot of players have been misjudging batted balls lately, yet another byproduct of the quick ramp-up to the regular season.

"He can play center field well," the scout said of Adell. "He will be fine in the corner."

Adell buried his head in his glove after that play. Later, he was engaged in what seemed like a light-hearted conversation with Trout, who tried his best to ease Adell's mind. Angels manager Joe Maddon has been working individually with Adell on certain drills and has tried to speak with him daily. He has found Adell to be "a very thoughtful young man" who listens well.

"I'm not there yet," Adell said. "I'm ready to get there. I'm on my way to getting there. But it's one of those things where I have to go out, relax and just do my thing and not really worry about the result."

The reeling Angels

After what was basically a five-year malaise, the Angels, fresh off hiring Maddon and signing Anthony Rendon, had their sights set on legitimate contention this season. The Astros paved the way for the Angels by losing Justin Verlander and Roberto Osuna and deploying 10 rookie pitchers on their active roster.

But the Angels have done nothing with the opportunity. They're 5-11 with less than three-quarters of the season remaining. Shohei Ohtani won't pitch this season, depriving a thin pitching staff of an ace-caliber arm. Hansel Robles, who emerged as the closer last year, is pitching in low-leverage situations as he tries to regain velocity. Justin Upton, owed $51 million over the next four years, has been relegated to the weak side of a left-field platoon.

The Angels carried an 18-inning scoreless streak into the middle of Sunday's game and finished with the sixth-lowest batting average in the sport. Rendon, 4-for-39, will be better. So will Ohtani, who has already struck out 15 times as the designated hitter. And so will the team's batting average on balls in play, which is second-lowest in the sport. But that all needs to happen quickly. The Angels have the lowest winning percentage in the American League and find themselves seven games back in their division.

"I think we all know that when we're clicking, we're gonna be a great team," Angels starter Andrew Heaney said. "It's just not happening right now."

Still haven't peaked?

Walker Buehler is only now rounding into form after finding himself behind with his throwing program when baseball restarted. Cody Bellinger, 11-for-64, is clearly still working through recent tweaks to his mechanics. Yet the Los Angeles Dodgers -- without Mookie Betts for most of the first three games of this week and without Corey Seager for most of the last three games of this week -- are 11-5 while leading the majors in run differential.

The Dodgers have the fifth-lowest batting average on balls in play but the fifth-highest hard-hit percentage, a possible sign of an offense that might soon break out. The most encouraging development thus far: A.J. Pollock, barely replacement level in the first year of a $55 million contract in 2019, boasts a 1.021 OPS.

Pollock had a rough time during the shutdown, as he watched his wife give birth to a baby 15 weeks premature, contracted the coronavirus and then reported to the Dodgers with his newborn daughter still in the neonatal intensive-care unit. That experience, he said recently, gave him a new perspective that indirectly led to a more simplified approach to baseball. He might be reaping the benefits of that.

"Even the days when I don't get any results, I feel like I'm in a good position to hit," Pollock said after providing the game-winning three-run homer on Sunday. "I'm seeing the ball well, and I'm competitive with my at-bats."

More than homers

Fernando Tatis Jr. would probably have won the 2019 National League Rookie of the Year Award if not for an ill-timed back injury. Tatis has six home runs and a 1.741 OPS in his past six games. He has homered in four straight games and is the fourth-youngest player in modern MLB history with six home runs in a six-game span, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information. On Monday in L.A., he could join Alex Rodriguez and Eddie Miller as the only shortstops in the past 100 years to homer in five straight games.

"I think the most impressive part of all this is not about the home runs that he's been hitting but how he's been playing defense," San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado said. "That's a big reason why I think the other side of things are flowing with him because he's kind of just getting used to playing good shortstop. When you're at shortstop, you're basically the quarterback of the infield. You gotta be on point at all times, and he's been showing that. He's been under control at all times. He's been doing what he needs to do on the defensive side. And once you do that defensively, now you become an all-around player. We've been seeing that."

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is among several higher-profile college football players posting on social media that they want to play this season.

Lawrence tweeted on Sunday: "Let's work together to create a situation where we can play the game that all of us love. Not divide and argue. There is a way forward."

Lawrence posted a separate tweet with the hashtag #WeWantToPlay. North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell posted the same hashtag tweet.

Another longer Lawrence tweet read in part: "People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don't play. Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19."

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields echoed Lawrence's sentiments on Sunday. Fields, who like Lawrence would project as one of the top picks in the 2021 NFL draft even if he doesn't play another down in college football, tweeted: "There's been too much work put in! #WeWantToPlay"

On Sunday night, Lawrence and Fields, along with several other athletes from Power 5 conferences, tweeted a graphic with conference logos that stated one goal is to "create a college football players association."

#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/jvQhE7noGB

— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 10, 2020

In regard to the graphic and united front, Clemson running back Darien Rencher said in a tweet on Sunday night that he and Lawrence "got together with representatives from every Power 5 conference via Zoom Call and this is what we decided upon. Pac 12 movement and #BigTenUnited were in collaboration with us. All together -- a step toward one collective voice."

ESPN reported that the commissioners of the Power 5 conferences held an emergency meeting on Sunday, as there is growing concern among college athletics officials that it won't be possible to play the upcoming football season and other fall sports because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, Lawrence tweeted: "I don't know about y'all, but we want to play."

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford posted a hashtag tweet on Saturday that read #IWantToPlay, and Ohio State linebacker Tuf Borland, a team captain, penned a letter to the "college athletics community" on his Twitter feed.

"It has been said that college athletes are being 'exploited' not only in the stated letter but also in the media," Borland wrote. "We recognize that there are risks. But we have all chosen to be here and want the chance to play this fall. We know that there is still a long way to go as plans continue to change everyday. But we have a consistent voice in the discussion."

Parents of current Ohio State players have been circulating a letter on social media that says they trust the safety protocols that the school has put in place and want their student-athletes to play this season.

If you're a three-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP, you can skirt the ban on fans at the PGA Championship.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was deputized as a "guest reporter'' for the final round of the tournament, making him one of the few outsiders allowed on the course at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco on Sunday.

Curry, who is not in the NBA bubble in Florida because the Warriors didn't qualify for the NBA restart, asked the first two questions at winner Collin Morikawa's news conference. He even offered to carry Morikawa's bag if caddie J.J. Jakovac was busy. (Jakovac is a Warriors fan but Morikawa, who went to school at Berkeley but is a Los Angeles-area native, declared himself a Lakers fan.)

"I'm free for the next three months if you need a caddie or replacement,'' said Curry, who was wearing a mask but Morikawa still recognized him on the course. "J.J. is a great guy, but if you need me, I'm available.''

Curry also asked Morikawa if he watches the leaderboard when he's playing in a tournament.

"I want to know where I'm at. Why not?'' Morikawa said. "I don't think it affects me."

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- After Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard rose up and hit a 3-pointer, while being fouled, with 2:53 remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers to put Portland ahead by two, he turned and looked at the scoreboard.

"I just remember looking up there, because I wanted to get to the point where we took the lead, and then just keep the lead, instead of playing from behind. Because that's uncomfortable, to be like, you're down two, if they score, they can go up 5 if they make a shot.

"So I just looked up there like, 'OK, now let's walk away from them. Let's close the game out. Let's stop messing around with our season.'

"That's really what I was thinking when I looked up there. Like, 'All right. Let's do this.'"

Lillard proceeded to do just that. After missing two free throws and a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final 20 seconds of Saturday's loss to the LA Clippers, Lillard responded by scoring 51 points while adding 7 assists in 40 minutes to power the Blazers to a 124-121 victory over the Sixers inside the NBA's bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort.

With the victory, Portland moved within a half-game of the Memphis Grizzlies, who lost to the Toronto Raptors earlier Sunday, for eighth place in the Western Conference, and eliminated the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings -- both of whom lost Sunday -- from contention for a spot in the league's first-ever play-in tournament.

It looked for a significant stretch of the fourth quarter that Portland might suffer a disappointing loss for a second day in a row to an undermanned opponent. After losing to the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard being rested for the whole game and Paul George on the bench in the dying moments, the Sixers -- who were already without star Ben Simmons because of a left knee injury -- lost Joel Embiid six minutes into the game with a left ankle injury.

And yet, the Blazers saw their offense grow stagnant thanks to tired legs in the second half, while the Sixers -- led by 28 points from Josh Richardson -- made a push and actually took a 114-108 lead with 4:23 remaining on a Richardson 3-pointer.

But Portland responded with 12 unanswered points over the next two minutes -- capped off by seven straight points by Lillard, first on the and-one 3-pointer and then a pull-up triple on the next possession -- that gave the Blazers the lead for good, and allowed him to bounce back from Saturday's disappointment.

"I don't think anyone thinks anything less of Dame because he missed free throws," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Tonight, he showed his determination and will that he's shown throughout his career.

"I don't think anybody was concerned about how he was going to come out and play tonight."

The same could be said for center Jusuf Nurkic, who gave the Blazers 15 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes while playing in the first back-to-back games he's participated in since coming back from a gruesome leg injury he suffered last season.

"I was not prepared for the back-to-back," said Nurkic, who said he decided to play when Hassan Whiteside was ruled out for a second straight game with a hip injury. "After that loss, I couldn't afford not to play. So I tried to fight through, and I'm glad we won this one.

"We know our season is on the line right now, and we can afford no more losses."

The Blazers now have two games remaining: Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks and Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets. If Portland wins both, it is guaranteed a place in the play-in tournament, which starts Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ABC.

And, thanks to Lillard's heroics, he was both able to erase Saturday's disappointment, and move Portland one win closer to achieving the goal of making something out of this opportunity by making the playoffs that he set for the Blazers before they arrived here.

"After the game, I was irritated with myself," Lillard said. "I was frustrated. But it is what it is. I talked with one of my best friends, and he was like, 'This happened for a reason. You've had a lot of big moments, and you usually come out on top. ... You've got to expect there to be some type of balance. You've got to expect that sometimes you're going to have to respond to some type of adversity.'

"I had a chance to get back on the court today, so I moved from it."

A small part of the victory was Carmelo Anthony, one of the best scorers in NBA history, moving past both John Havlicek and Paul Pierce and into 15th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. But Anthony said it wasn't something he was going to celebrate right now, as Portland fights for a playoff spot and he and the NBA's players are making their push to end racial inequality and promote social justice.

"Well, first of all, it's an honor, and I'm blessed to still be able to do it," Anthony said afterward. "To reach that top 15, I wouldn't take it for granted. Some greats on there.

"[But] it's kind of hard to celebrate that at this moment. I appreciate it ... it's a great milestone. I don't want to downplay it. [But] it's very hard to harp on it and talk about it when you're still in this dogfight, because there is so much we have to accomplish."

TORONTO -- Joonas Korpisalo stopped 33 shots and the Columbus Blue Jackets advanced to the first round of the NHL playoffs with a 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night.

Zach Werenski's floater from the left point in the first period held up as the deciding goal. Liam Foudy sneaked in a shot from a bad angle with 8:20 remaining, and captain Nick Foligno sealed the victory by scoring into an open net with 23 seconds remaining.

Werenski played despite not being able to finish Game 4 with an apparent upper body injury. And Korpisalo posted his second shutout of the series, while getting the start after Elvis Merzlikins was ruled to be unfit to play.

The Maple Leafs ran out of offense with captain John Tavares misfiring by hitting the post while facing a wide-open side in the first period. And Toronto ran out of remarkable comebacks two nights after rallying from a three-goal third-period deficit in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4.

Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots, and was caught cheating to his right in giving up Foudy's goal from a bad angle.

Columbus, which rallied from a three-goal second period deficit in a 4-3 OT win in Game 3, advances to the first round, where it will meet the second-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in a rematch of last year's first-round series. The Blue Jackets swept the President's Trophy-winning Lightning in four games in their first playoff series victory in franchise history.

The Lightning are suddenly facing injury issues. Star defenseman Victor Hedman went down with an apparent right ankle injury in a 4-1 robin-robin-closing loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, and captain Steven Stamkos has yet to play since sustaining a lower body injury last month. It's unclear if either will be available for Game 1, which has yet to be scheduled.

So much for hometown advantage to the NHL's two hub-city teams with both the Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers eliminated in the preliminary round.

The Maple Leafs continued their one-and-done playoff woes in making their fourth straight postseason appearance, and fifth since the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Toronto has not advanced since knocking off Ottawa in Game 7 of a 2004 first-round series.

Werenski opened the scoring 6:29 in when he floated a shot from the left point. The puck appeared to deflect off of Maple Leafs defenseman Tyson Barrie, who was jostling in front with Boone Jenner, and went in over Andersen's shoulder.

Tavares squandered an opportunity to tie the game with 3:45 left in the opening period. Set up by Morgan Rielly in the right circle, and with Korpisalo out of position at the left post, Tavares rushed a shot that struck the inside of the right post and caromed back through the crease.

Tavares was set up in the same spot five minutes into the second period, only to this time be denied by Korpisalo, who got a piece of the puck with his blocker.

Foudy scored his first career playoff goal by tracking down a dump in along the right boards near the goal line. He skated toward the net and sneaked a shot in through Andersen's legs.

Toronto might have ranked third in the NHL in averaging 3.39 goals per game in the regular season, but the Leafs were foiled by a Columbus opponent that finished tied for second in allowing just 2.57 goals per outing.

The Blue Jackets placed a blanket on Toronto's high-octane offense in limiting it to just 19 shots through two periods and 33 overall, two nights after allowing 53.

Korpisalo opened the series with a 28-save shutout before allowing five goals on the next 53 shots in being pulled midway through the second period of Columbus' 4-3 OT win in Game 3. After making 21 saves to blank the Leafs in a backup role in Game 3, Merzlikins gave up four goals on 53 shots Friday in the only preliminary-round series to be settled in five games.

New year, same result for Dustin Johnson at the PGA Championship.

Johnson entered the final round at TPC Harding Park with a one-shot lead on a crowded leaderboard, eager to improve on last year's result when he finished runner-up to Brooks Koepka at Bethpage. But changing coasts didn't prove to be a solution for Johnson, who couldn't keep pace as nine different players held at least a share of the lead during the final round.

Johnson closed with a 17-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 68, a score that on other days might be enough to close out a win when starting with a lead. Instead it only helped him join Paul Casey at 11 under, tied for second and two shots behind winner Collin Morikawa. Johnson did not speak with reporters following the final round.

Including the 2019 Masters, Johnson now has three runner-up finishes in the last five majors played. He also has five runner-ups in his major career, having finished second at both the 2011 Open and 2015 U.S. Open to go along with his 2016 U.S. Open win at Oakmont. Johnson also had a one-shot lead on the 72nd hole at the 2010 PGA at Whistling Straits before a penalty for grounding his club in a bunker dropped him to a T-5 finish.

Johnson won the Travelers Championship in June but had struggled in recent weeks, shooting 80-80 en route to a missed cut at the Memorial and withdrawing from the 3M Open after an opening 78, citing a back injury. He is expected to move to No. 4 in the latest edition of the Official World Golf Rankings, one spot ahead of Morikawa.

SAN FRANCISCO – At 23, Collin Morikawa is impressively adept at navigating press conferences, but Sunday’s media encounter following his victory at the PGA Championship took an odd turn.

The first question Morikawa was asked following his two-stroke victory came from Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry, the three-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP.

After being star struck for a moment, Morikawa recovered.

“My caddie is a huge Warriors fan. I think you heard him. I'm not,” Morikawa laughed. “I'm an L.A. boy at heart.”

Curry also offered to be a “replacement” caddie for Morikawa, since he is “free for the next three months.”

“Perfect. I can't wait. I want to see your game,” Morikawa smiled.

Curry is an avid golfer, who has played two Korn Ferry Tour events.

According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle last month, he’s also poised to become the host of a PGA Tour event starting in September 2021.

That event is scheduled to be played at TPC Harding Park, site of this week’s PGA Championship.

SAN FRANCISCO – A wild afternoon that included nine different players holding at least a share of the lead had been whittled away to just two, with Collin Morikawa tied with Paul Casey at 11 under par.

“I knew someone was going to have to break out,” Morikawa said.

If, as Phil Mickelson contends, winning major championships requires a heroic moment, for Morikawa that moment came at the par-4 16^th hole that had been trimmed to 294 yards for the final round. Ironically, it was a shot Morikawa said he wouldn’t hit.

“I told [CBS analyst] Colt Knost, he saw me Wednesday afternoon practicing on there, and he asked me if I was ever going to go for it. I told him a quick no, it's too much into the wind, why go for it,” Morikawa said.

The combination of an accessible hole location, favorable wind conditions and the need to “break out” from the pack prompted Morikawa to change his plan.

“[Caddie J.J. Jackovac] looked at me and asked me what I wanted to do and I told him, let's hit a good drive,” Morikawa said. “I counted back from 14 at Muirfield. What's different from 14 at Muirfield and this shot, similar numbers, wind was a little left, kind of into me, but I knew I had to hit a good one.”

At last month’s Workday Charity Open he hit a similar drive in the final round at the short, par-4 14^th hole and won the event in a playoff, but Sunday’s attempt was much more dramatic.

“We were both screaming at it to get a good bounce, and we obviously got a very good bounce, and you just have to capitalize on those shots,” Morikawa said.

Morikawa’s tee shot bounded just short of the green, rolled to within 7 feet of the hole and he converted the eagle putt to move to 13 under par on his way to a two-stroke victory.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The shot elicited barely a whimper, a smattering of cheers and claps reminiscent of his college days at nearby Cal, but one that deserved the kind of delirium you come to expect in such moments on golf's biggest stage.

Collin Morikawa will have to settle for the shot seen -- but not heard -- around the world, an epic driver to the 16th green Sunday at TPC Harding Park that set up an eagle putt and a two-shot victory at the PGA Championship.

There might not have been any noise, but Morikawa loudly announced himself to the masses with that shot while helping him forge ahead of a packed leaderboard to become a winner at golf's first major championship of the pandemic-plagued 2020 season.