Can Collin Morikawa Find His Way to The Top at Pebble Beach?

The 27-year-old Cal grad has just one PGA Tour victory since the summer of 2021
Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Collin Morikawa, who has just one PGA Tour victory to his credit in 3 1/2 years, appears to be well-positioned to challenge for the $3.6 million winner’s check at this weekend’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The 27-year-old Cal grad, six times a winner on the tour and twice a major champion, has experienced a lot of near misses in recent months.

In 2024 alone, he tied for third at the Masters and tied for fourth at the PGA Championship after sharing the lead through three rounds. 

He was runner-up at the Memorial and the Tour Championship, had eight top-10 finished and earned more than $8 million in prize money. 

But he never finished on top.

That hasn’t happened for Morikawa since the Zozo Championship in Japan in October 2023, when he won by six strokes after a bogey-free final round of 63. Prior to that, he hasn’t posted a victory since capturing his second major, The Open at Royal St. George’s in England in July 2021.

He kicked off his 2025 season early last month with a runner-up finish at The Sentry in Hawaii, where the often challenging elements cooperated and he shot 32 under for 72 holes.

The experts believe Morikawa can use that as a springboard to a strong performance beginning Thursday at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links. He finished in a tie for 14th at the event last year.

Morikawa gets started with an 8:35 a.m. tee time at the 10th hole. Byeong Hun An, who played one season with the Golden Bears, goes off fro the first tee at 8:48 a.m. before Cal grad Max Homa gets under way at 10:19 a.m. on the first tee.

Morikawa, ranked No. 4 in the world, is considered a legitimate challenge to top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and other elite players this weekend.

Here’s how some of the experts view Morikawa’s prospects at Pebble:

CBS Sports: “Collin Morikawa: It seems like a perfect time for the two-time major champion to get back into the winner's circle. Off a runner-up performance in the season opener, Morikawa makes his second start of the year at a place that features tiny greens and requires pinpoint accuracy with wedges. Luckily, he has that in spades and looks to be eager at the chance of playing challenger to Scheffler in 2025. Expect another good week from Morikawa, and keep an eye on the putter on Sunday -- it has failed him at key moments during this winless streak.”

Golf Digest: “Collin Morikawa’s fit on paper at Pebble Beach makes loads of sense. He is a California native who has already a major in Northern California at Harding Park, one of the shorter major venues of the last decade that also mandates short iron play and putting on tricky Poa Annua greens. The two-time major winner opened his 2025 campaign with a runner-up finish at the Sentry and is more than due to get back into the winner’s circle.”

Yardbarker: “It’s hard to envision a better course for Morikawa . . . Morikawa is accurate off the tee, he’s one of the best iron players in the game, and he’s made great strides with his short game in the last 12 months. During that stretch, he’s 12th in strokes gained around the green and 10th in strokes gained putting on Poa Annua greens. In his debut here last year, he finished T14. We certainly don’t have to worry about incoming form, as he’s finished 4th or better in 6 of his last 12 starts.”

New York Times: “Collin Morikawa has not been as prolific a winner as he or his fans may have envisioned when he broke onto the scene on the PGA Tour. He won three times in 2021 but has only one win since. Morikawa looks to be in fine form after gaining almost 15 strokes on the field at The Sentry, and I am predicting a breakout for him this year, with the first of those wins possibly coming this week. He finished T14 last year in his only AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am start of his career, and he gained over three strokes combined around and on the greens.”


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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics.