Collin Morikawa rocketed to golf stardom with his surprise victory at the 2020 PGA Championship, just a year after closing out his decorated amateur career at California.
By the time he added the 2021 Open Championship for his second career major title, Morikawa already was a household name. Just 24 at the time, he would go on to close the year with a win at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Morikawa was ranked No. 2 in the world and appeared to be established among the game’s new crop of young superstars.
But golf is a fickle game, and Morikawa hasn’t won since that title in Dubai. Two years removed from his Open triumph at Royal St. George’s Golf Club, he arrived at Royal Liverpool this week ranked 19th in the world and not among the top-10 pre-tournament favorites at most books.
“I would say the last two years have been interesting, not the way I would have guessed it would have gone two years ago, but that’s golf and that’s life,” Morikawa said Tuesday. “You really don’t know what to expect. It’s really about learning and truly learning about it.
“But winning takes care of everything.”
Morikawa does see strong signs of regaining his winning form. He was only two shots off the 54-hole lead at the Memorial last month when he was forced to withdraw due to a back injury suffered during a workout. After a T14 at the U.S. Open and a missed cut at the Travelers, Morikawa lost in a playoff to Rickie Fowler at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in his most recent start.
“Being in contention two weeks ago was the best feeling, walking down those last nine holes, it felt like it was just back to normal,” he said. “It didn’t feel like it was out of the norm. It just felt like, ‘man, we’re here to make birdies, we’re here to win the tournament.’ The playoff didn’t go the way I wanted, but it just felt comfortable.
“To know that that’s still there, that’s the best feeling.”
The 151st Open is the final major of the year, but the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Ryder Cup lie ahead in the next two months. Morikawa said he doesn’t know when he’s going to hoist his next trophy, but he’s confident it’s going to happen.
“I would love a big week. Obviously, the goal is to win. That’s what it is every week,” he said. “I know it’s going to come. I don’t know when. Hopefully this week. But it’s going to happen.”
–Field Level Media