Collin Morikawa Has Hilarious Response to Questions About Seemingly Controversial Marking

He tried to make light of the situation.

Collin Morikawa had no idea that he created quite the stir in the golf world on social media during his first round at the Masters on Thursday.

A video of the two-time major winner on the sixth hole at Augusta National went viral as fans wondered if Morikawa had committed a rules violation after seemingly moving his ball on the green.

When asked about what happened on the 6th hole during his post-round press conference, Morikawa cleared up the confusion by noting that his ball had involuntarily moved, and the rules of golf state that he can move it back to where it originally came to rest.

“Yeah, the ball moved, and then I moved it back,” Morikawa explained. “Pretty standard now. Pretty routine in our rules book thankfully.”

The 26-year-old later tweeted the full video that showed exactly what happened.

Here’s the full video…Ball moved as I addressed it, so I threw the coin down in no specific place, replaced the ball to the original spot and then moved my marker to the original spot (from where I threw it). I play by the rules, I promise. https://t.co/HQhIv68vKE

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) April 7, 2023

But, Morikawa didn’t know that this clip was all over social media during his round. The two-time major champion was confused why reporters continued to ask him about it until they explained how the clip went viral.

Morikawa then had a hilarious response to the misunderstood viral video.

“Good. Bring that PIP up,” Morikawa said. “Blow me up, guys.”

Morikawa’s response refers to the Player Impact Program, or PIP, which began in 2021. PIP rewards players with extra money who “generate the most positive interest in the PGA Tour,” per Golf.com. Last season, Morikawa finished 11th in the PIP rankings, meaning he went home with no extra cash as only the top 10 players earned money that year.

PIP has made some changes this season though, as the top 20 players will be rewarded and the available prize money will go up from $50 million to $100 million.

With his name being a hot topic on Thursday, Morikawa knows the viral moment could help his PIP ranking, which is why he joked about it. He tried to make light of the situation despite fans questioning if he was a “cheater” most of the round.

Here’s the full rundown of Morikawa learning about his viral moment on Thursday.

Lol, Collin Morikawa is not particularly bothered by the ball-marking Twitter storm from earlier today.

“Good. Bring that PIP up. Blow me up, guys.”😂 pic.twitter.com/b46lWDdT0D

— Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) April 6, 2023

Morikawa finished the first round with a 3-under, 69. He is currently tied for 13th.