At this time a year ago, Collin Morikawa arrived in Japan feeling quite depressed. He hasn't won since winning at Royal St George's in 2021, when he was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year that summer. However, in eight major tournaments between then and last year's ZOZO Championship, he still managed to finish in the top 10 three times. But questions about his size and talent persisted. But deep down, Morikawa knew that the important thing was not if he could win again, but when.
Now, that week at ZOZO, Morikawa won by 6 strokes, winning for the first time in two years. A tremendous weight fell from his shoulders. That was evident when he hugged caddy Jonathan Jakovac on the 18th green in celebration.
“During these difficult times, let's say the past two years, [Jakovac has] I got through it. For the past two years, I've been sitting on the range longer than I'd like to hit a ball on the range. He probably did more than I could ask for in a caddy. That says a lot. See, these guys don't just carry golf bags on their backs, do they? He's right there. He is a friend, a mentor, someone I trust and someone I respect. He's everything,'' Morikawa said after last year's victory in Japan.
“Without him I wouldn't be here right now. We spent so much time figuring this out, and he spent countless hours on his phone watching videos. , what I sent him was to figure out what made us better than the past couple years. We tried everything. We try things out, and sometimes we just hit it, and we find what we need to find, and it just so happens that we need to break it down a little more and dig a little more to the surface level. He's just amazing. He's the best. I wouldn't have been here without him, and I wouldn't have won my sixth time on the PGA Tour. I was really lucky to have that.”
Morikawa's next official start on the PGA Tour was at the Sentry tournament on Maui in early January, where he finished tied for fifth. But after that, Morikawa struggled again. His ball-striking was nowhere near the level he was at when he won two majors in 11 months. He also couldn't make the putts, as evidenced by his miscuts at Torrey Pines and Bay Hill.
He then decided to try to rebuild his skills at the Valero Texas Open, which was held the week before the Masters, but finished tied for 75th, a very disappointing result considering the low-quality field at the tournament.
However, golf is an interesting game.
Shortly after arriving at Augusta National for the 2024 Masters, the day after the crushing loss in Texas, Morikawa went straight to the tournament practice field. While there, he and Jakovac discovered something in his swing.
“I found something early on Monday, so I'm just going to stick with it,” Morikawa said after the second round of this year's Masters.
“Sometimes you just need one swing mindset, but I had to find what works. It's a good time for it to start coming together.”
Whatever Morikawa discovered that day, the “Ellipse Day,” turned him into one of the best players in the world once again. It's as if Morikawa has blossomed into a different player, turning his back on his past struggles and becoming a top contender once again. The solar eclipse became the perfect symbol of Morikawa's transformation.
Since then, there hasn't been a Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele, and he is by far the best player. However, he hasn't won since last year's ZOZO Championship, a notable development considering the talent he has developed.
He played in both the Masters and the PGA Championship, playing in the final group for both on Sunday. If it weren't for his self-proclaimed “greed”, Morikawa might have worn the green jacket instead. The final round at Valhalla also didn't go as planned, as he was unable to land a birdie putt all the way to the 18th green. On this day, he was ranked third from last in strokes gained putts.
Nevertheless, since making his discovery under Georgia Pines, Morikawa has finished outside the top 20 just four times, his worst result being T-28 at the BMW Championship in late August. . He has played in 13 tournaments since the 2024 Masters, including two runner-up finishes behind Scheffler, who had a Tiger Woods-like performance in 2024. Morikawa almost lost his world No. 1 title at the Memorial, but lost it to a stroke. Three months later, Morikawa performed admirably at the Tour Championship, but fell short due to the format of his starting stroke. In a normal stroke-play event without a handicap, Morikawa would have won East Lake that week instead of Scheffler. His approach play caught fire.
Still, after Scheffler hoisted the FedEx Cup trophy, someone asked Morikawa if he could evaluate his 2024 season. His response:
“We have to play better in the final round, that's what it comes down to,” Morikawa said in Atlanta.
“It's not like I had to do anything special in a few rounds. I didn't have to shoot a 63 to win. I don't know how many groups I was in the final group this year, but… , so much so that I can easily think of a few groups in my head. Once I've done that, I want to think about winning. Rather than sustaining the energy, I just want to sustain the golf and easily get to 5 in the final round. We have to find a way to shoot under.”
The great thing about Morikawa is that he doesn't have to change much. He just needs a bounce or two to get his way. Yes, he is a very good person. He showed it in the Presidents Cup, earning Team USA four points en route to a historic victory. His four-point performance was matched only by Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, proving once again that Morikawa is one of the best of the best.
But a year later, he came to Japan in search of more victories. He's been a long time coming, especially given his strong play since April.
Morikawa is a staple on every leaderboard, including Colonial, Olympic, and Eastlake. He also finished in the top 16 at both the US Open and the British Open, capping off a great major championship season at Royal Troon.
Now it's time for him to rise to the top of the leaderboard.
Considering his past success on this golf course and in this week's limited field, the defending champion is the favorite. Of course, his otherworldly iron play is solid but not up to his standards this season, his great short game, and incredible accuracy off the tee are reason enough on their own. It is. But when the time comes, it's important to get the job done.
He has all the talent in the world to do so and no one would be surprised if he did. A win this week will give him the confidence he needs heading into 2025, which he hopes will be a “fun year” as he hinted at Eastlake. But it also caps off a remarkable 2024 that has been clouded by Scheffler and Schauffele's reigns. Morikawa's victory has been long overdue, but he believes he finally got it this week.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
