With a Drought-Busting Win in Japan, Collin Morikawa Gets a Boost for 2024
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Everything is relative, so to say that Collin Morikawa was having a poor year is probably not correct. But by his standards—as a two-time major champion—it undoubtedly was viewed as disappointing.
That’s before he won the Zozo Championship on Sunday, his first worldwide win in nearly two years, with a nice boost of confidence heading into 2024.
Morikawa, who shot a 7-under-par 63 in Japan to win by six strokes, was suffering through a frustrating two full seasons without a victory. He had four runner-up finishes in that time, including a blown six-shot lead at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions. He also lost in a playoff to Rickie Fowler.
Collin Morikawa led the field in birdies while winning the Zozo Championship.
Tomohiro Ohsumi/AP
Earlier in the week, he explained the ups and downs.
"That’s part of professional golf is you think you have it for one week or you think you have it for a day and you hope that extends over the longest period of time," Morikawa said. “Unfortunately it's kind of been on a week-to-week basis. So when I look back, it's 'did I really find the answer?' Not quite, because if I did, you would see maybe a month period of good golf or a little longer period.
"I think when you look at when I have been winning, my good little stints, it's been longer than a week. Look, at the end of the day any one of us out here on the PGA Tour, if you're good enough to make it out here, you can have a good week. But that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a lot of consistency and then peeking at the right times to kind of come out with a win.
"So we're still in search. We're working on a few things to hopefully be that right recipe for success, but it all comes with an understanding of just kind of what has worked and how do you kind of build those foundation blocks again."
Morikawa’s previous PGA Tour win came at the 2021 British Open at Royal St. George’s. That was his second major title in two years and his fifth win on the PGA Tour. He also won the DP World Tour Championship later that year and was leading the Hero through three rounds with a chance to move to No. 1 in the world (although the Hero is an unofficial event, it still offers Official World Golf Ranking points) but fell back with a 76.
He had swing issues for a good part of 2022, had the two high finishes to start the year, then had no top 5s (and a brief back issue) until the Rocket Mortgage. He was ranked No. 20 in the world heading into the Zozo.
"Frustrating’s a word I can use," he said. "Look, it all comes down to just winning. You can miss 20 cuts and have two wins, and I’d love to have two wins, and I’d love to win. It’s not the consistency I’d want, but you get my point. Winning, to me, is everything. You’ve got to learn how to close it, you’ve got to be able to do it."
He did on Sunday
"It feels so good I can’t even explain it," Morikawa said after his victory. "I knew I was going to get here at some point. It’s like getting your first win, your first major, whatever … people start asking questions, they start asking the 'why.' I really had to look back and ask myself what’s wrong. What is the 'why?' What’s the reason behind finishing second or fifth versus a win.”
The simple answer is putting. Morikawa, who despite not winning remained among the Tour’s top five ball-strikers (he was ranked second in strokes gained-approach heading into the tournament), was outside the top 100 in strokes gained-putting.
For the week, Morikawa made a tournament-best 24 birdies. He rallied after a poor start on Saturday to birdie five of his last six holes to shoot 66. Then he seemed to make everything Sunday.
"It feels incredible," Morikawa said. "Every win's so different, and every experience, whether it's winning or losing, you learn a lot, but this one just meant the world. I mean, obviously having this kind of two-year drought, just struggling at times, not really contending, to do what I did through this entire week, Thursday, Friday, and then how I started my round (Saturday) with a double bogey, it just—that's the golf I miss playing. To see that and to see it again, it's very exciting kind of just to close out this year and head into next year."
A Few More Things ...
Morikawa’s victory was his first on the PGA Tour since capturing the Open at Royal St. George’s in 2021. It was also his sixth win in 99 PGA Tour starts. ... Eric Cole did nothing to hurt his chances of being named the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year, his second-place finish was his second of the year and sixth top-10 in 36 starts. ... Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa tied for fourth, his first top-10 on the PGA Tour since 2016. Ishikawa is just 32 and has 19 professional wins. He’s played in just four major championships in the past five years.
J.J. Spaun moved inside the top 60 in FedEx Cup points while Sam Ryder dropped from 60th to 63rd. Players 51st to 60th will get spots in the first two Signature events following the Sentry—Pebble Beach and the Genesis. ... After taking this week off, the PGA Tour will have just three events remaining in what is called the FedEx Fall in Mexico, Bermuda and then the RSM Classic.
Adrian Meronk, who missed out on a captain’s pick for the European Ryder Cup, won the Andalucia Masters in Spain, his third DP World Tour victory of the season. “I’m just glad the Ryder Cup and all the talks about it are over," Meronk said. “I can just focus on my game and keep going forward, and whoever doubted me, I can I can prove them wrong." ... Meronk is third in the Race to Dubai standings behind Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. The top 10 through the DP World Tour Championship not otherwise exempt will earn a PGA Tour card for 2024.
The start to the 2024 PGA Tour season at the Sentry begins in 73 days. And the first round of the Masters is 165 days away.