Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Talks about Muirfield, Evaluates His Two-Year Pro Career Arc
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Collin Morikawa arrived at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, this week with a confident sense of familiarity.
After all, Morikawa won on this course less than a year ago.
But not at this tournament.
And, to be fair, not on this course exactly.
The 24-year-old Cal grad played back-to-back weeks on the Jack Nicklaus layout, winning the Workday Charity Open last July 12 after a three-hole playoff against Justin Thomas following a 72-hole score of 19 under par.
A week later, after the Muirfield course was made significantly more challenging, Morikawa finished just 48th place at the Memorial Tournament, shooting eight over par.
“It doesn’t feel like I’m the defending champ and I’m definitely not the defending champ,” Morikawa said in a news conference this week to set up the Memorial, which begins Thursday.
“But I’ve had success here and I really love the course. The first time I showed up here last year, those two weeks, it didn’t really matter if I won or didn’t win, I fell in love with the place. I knew this was a place I was going to love for the rest of my life.”
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So he’s back at Muirfield, but Nicklaus has done some rather dramatic tinkering with the course he designed in 1976. Morikawa is listed as one of the pre-tournament favorites at 16-to-1 (defending champion Jon Rahm tops that list at 10-to-1) but the challenge will be different.
“I’ve seen how the course has played over the years, recognized things I didn’t really like,” Nicklaus said. “I decided now was the time to make changes that would result in a more enjoyable golf course for the members while still challenging the pros.”
Here’s now Golf Digest described the overhaul:
“Only two holes, Nos. 12 and 14, went unchanged as Nicklaus altered teeing grounds, built new greens, recontoured others, and narrowed or rerouted fairways. A precision air system was installed under the greens to control moisture. He also wiped the slate clean on bunkering by either repositioning them, or by adding or subtracting in key areas. He also found room for another 153 yards, bringing the course to 7,609 yards, a far cry (and carry) from the 6,969 yards that Muirfield Village measured when it opened in 1974.
“Major revisions were made to holes 1, 4, 5, 7 and 15, with each featuring a new green complex.”
Morikawa was asked about it Tuesday, before playing a practice round on the course, and sounded eager to get out on it.
“Knowing that they’re making these updates to make it a little more challenging, to make you really think through this golf course, I know Jack is only going to make this place even better,” he said. “So I look forward to it. It’s a course that has really suited my eye. Even with some moved bunkers and whatnot, it still kind of works to my favor.”
Morikawa said he will guard against relying too much on his memory from playing the course twice last year because he knows there will be changes everywhere.
“So I’m coming in with a fresh mind. I still have really good vibes and I have good memories from this place,” he said. “But you have to remember that what you did a year ago is not going to necessarily translate into, `I can hit this exact same shot off this tee or into this green,’ because realistically a lot of these greens are changed.
“You’ve got to be prepared in the sense of, `Let’s go prepare for this golf course like something I’ve never seen.’ “
Ranked No. 6 in the world after a tie for 14th last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Morikawa has finished in the top 20 of the past four events he’s entered. He says he is playing better.
“I’d say over the past month I’ve been a little more consistent. I’ve been seeing some decent results,” he said. “I just haven’t put together four complete rounds. I’m hitting the ball pretty good from the fairway. Driver’s been a little iffy here and there.
“For me, obviously, it just comes down to putting. I think I say this every week, but it’s true. I’m trying new things, I’m trying to work on things. I see glimpses of light, of good putting streaks or good putting holes that really just propel me to the next day but I want to be more consistent.”
Morikawa leads the PGA tour in greens made in regulation (72.22 percent) but is 137th in putts per round (29.08).
“How I am with my irons, I want to be like that with my chipping and putting.”
He also was asked to evaluate his career arc so far, which includes four victories and 15 top-10 finishes in 48 events . . . and more than $10 million in prize money over two years.
“It’s been solid. I’m not going to take away any of those four wins,” he said. “To be honest, I came onto the PGA tour knowing I was ready to play golf and compete.
"I wish I was a little more consistent. I wish I could have a few more top-10s. I wish I would contend a little more on continuous weeks. I’ve seen my performances after wins and they haven’t been great. I’ve got to find the reason why. The best players in the world aren’t just kind of competing one week out of the year, four weeks out of the year. They’re competing every week they tee it up.
“Fifteen top-10s or whatever you said, they’re solid. But I want more. I want to keep playing well, put myself in contention. I really think it’s going to come down to me just being an overall better player from tee to green and on the green. There's things I know I need to keep working on and thing I want to keep working on. There’s really no way to perfect it, but we’re trying.”
Two other former Cal golfers, Max Homa and Byeong Hun-An also are playing the Memorial this week.
Cover photo of Collin Morikawa last year at Muirfield Village by Adam Cairns, Columbus Dispatch for USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo