On Wednesday, ahead of the Zozo Championship in Japan, Collin Morikawa spent about 2 ½ hours on the putting green. That in itself isn’t unusual for a PGA Tour pro but on this particular occasion, Morikawa and his caddie JJ Jakovac found something that propelled him to one of his best putting weeks of the season and on Sunday when it mattered most, he couldn’t miss.
So, what did he find just hours before the tournament began that was the difference in helping him win for the first time on the PGA Tour since the 2021 British Open?
“Yeah, yeah, we found something and we’re going to stick to it,” he said. “Look, you never know whether it’s going to be right or wrong, but something was off. Something I just couldn’t figure out. JJ and I were just looking at each other very confused and trying a bunch of different things. You know, we weren’t changing too much, we were just trying to look at putts a different way.
“We stuck to it. It was nice to see putts roll in in the first round, and then that continued. Yeah, made a lot of putts this week, it was really nice.”
Sounds good, right, except Morikawa left out the details as to what he actually changed. Was it his grip, his alignment, using AimPoint or relying on his first instinct of his read? He didn’t share. So his questioner pushed for more and asked for any additional insights.
“No, no, nope,” Morikawa replied.
Next question.
Morikawa is never going to be confused for Rory McIlroy, who to our great delight may be an over-sharer. But this isn’t the first time this season that Morikawa has kept things close to the vest with a change he’s made, guarding it like a state secret. Back at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July, he opened with 66 and was asked if he found something between playing in Hartford the week before.
“Yes, kind of,” he said. “I found probably the most important thing yesterday afternoon after my pro-am. It’s been a lot of work on the range, it’s been a lot of just playing on the course, seeing what the ball’s doing.
“Like I said, the good shots are good, so like it’s tough because like I can go hit five, 10 balls on the range, looks great and then you put it on the course and that’s where shots matter. It was something nice to find yesterday and kind of work from there. I won’t tell you, so…”
I was covering this event and I tried one more time.
“It’s in my golf swing,” he said, which did nothing to clear things up.
Given his reluctance to share, I tried a different tactic: Not asking you to tell me, but why do you not want to tell?
“Well, because it’s still a work in progress,” he explained, which is understandable, I suppose. “I think for me the swing thoughts and just basic things, like it’s nothing, it’s nothing complicated at all. Like, it is the least complicated thing.”
If it is the least complicated thing ever, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to share it with golfers who are always in search of their own fix.
One day later, after another good round, he was pressed for more details and answered, “It’s pretty simple, to be honest. I’m still not going to tell you, though.”
“I didn’t think you were,” I said.
“If I finish on top, I’ll tell you on Sunday, that’s a fair answer,” he said.
Unfortunately, he lost in a playoff to Rickie Fowler and so his secret stayed under wraps.
A month later, at the Tour Championship, Morikawa surged into contention for the FedEx Cup trophy with an opening-round 61 and was asked by a reporter, “Is there something specific you found in your swing the last couple weeks that has allowed you to feel like you have so much control?”
“Yeah, we found it on Tuesday,” Morikawa responded, “and I’m not going to tell you.”
Morikawa re-upped that if he won, he would share the details Sunday with me but he faded on the weekend.
This time, however, he won and even in a jubilant mood still didn’t feel obliged to share with the reporters on hand.
C’mon, Collin – inquiring minds want to know.
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