Collin Morikawa (born February 6, 1997) is an American
professional golfer
A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
who plays on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
and
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...
. He began his PGA Tour career with 22 consecutive made cuts, second only to
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
' 25-cut streak.
Morikawa has five PGA Tour wins – including two
major championships, the
2020 PGA Championship and the
2021 Open Championship, winning both on his debut. In May 2018, Morikawa spent three weeks as the top-ranked golfer in the
World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs p ...
.
He also became the first American to win the
Race to Dubai
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...
on the European Tour.
Amateur career
Morikawa played collegiate golf at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, from 2015 to 2019, winning five times, including the 2019
Pac-12 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
Championship. Aside from his collegiate wins, he won the
Western Junior
The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1 ...
,
Trans-Mississippi Amateur
The Trans-Mississippi Amateur or Trans-Miss Amateur is an annual amateur golf tournament. It is organized by the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association and was first played in 1901. It is played at a different course each year that are located near o ...
,
Sunnehanna Amateur
The Sunnehanna Amateur, officially the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions, is a men's amateur golf tournament. Founded in 1954, it is hosted annually at the Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is consider ...
and the
Northeast Amateur.
[ He played on the winning ]Arnold Palmer Cup
The Arnold Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition for college/university golfers. From 2018 it has been contested between a United States team and an International team representing the rest of the world. The teams consist of 12 men and 12 ...
team in 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, the winning Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...
team in 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and the Eisenhower Trophy
The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...
team in 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
that finished second by one stroke.[ In May 2018, he spent three weeks as the top-ranked golfer in the ]World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs p ...
.
Professional career
2019
Morikawa made his debut as a professional at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open
The Canadian Open (french: L'Omnium Canadien) is a professional golf tournament in Canada. It is co-organized by Golf Canada (formerly known as the Royal Canadian Golf Association) and the PGA Tour. It was first played in 1904, and has been hel ...
, where he tied for 14th place. On July 7, Morikawa tied for second at the 3M Open
The 3M Open is a professional golf tournament in Minnesota on the PGA Tour, held at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, a suburb north of Minneapolis. Announced by the PGA Tour in June 2018, the tournament debuted in 2019 on Minnesota-based company 3M ...
. On July 14, he tied for 4th at John Deere Classic
The John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July, usually the week before The Open Championship, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois.
History
The tournament be ...
. With that finish, Morikawa secured PGA Tour membership for the 2019–20 season. Morikawa then won his first PGA Tour event two weeks later, at the Barracuda Championship
A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...
– beating Troy Merritt by three points.
2020
On June 14, Morikawa tied for the lead of the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge
The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organ ...
after 72 holes. This was the first PGA Tour tournament played after a three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. Morikawa missed a short par putt on the first playoff hole to lose to Daniel Berger.
On June 26, Morikawa missed his first cut on the PGA Tour at the Travelers Championship
Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to:
People Generic terms
*One engaged in travel
*Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources
*Nomad, a member of a community withou ...
, ending a streak of 22 consecutive made cuts, the second-longest streak to start a professional career to the 25 made by Tiger Woods.
On July 12, Morikawa beat Justin Thomas
Justin Louis Thomas (born April 29, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and is former World Number One. In 2017, Thomas experienced a breakout year, winning five PGA Tour events and the FedEx Cup championship. H ...
in a playoff to win his second PGA Tour title at the Workday Charity Open. The win was the first non-alternate PGA Tour victory for him. Morikawa rallied from a three-shot deficit with three holes remaining, and made a 25-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to stay alive, before winning with a par on the third playoff hole.
On August 9, Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship to win a major in only his second major championship start. His final round of 64 tied the lowest final round score shot by a PGA Champion, matching Steve Elkington
Stephen John Elkington (born 8 December 1962) is an Australian professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions. Formerly on the PGA Tour, he spent more than fifty weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 1995 to 1998.
Elkingt ...
in the 1995 PGA Championship. With his win, Morikawa was the third youngest golfer to win the PGA Championship when he won the event at age 23. Morikawa was also the fourth golfer to win the PGA Championship before turning 24 years old.
2021
On February 28, Morikawa won the 2021 WGC-Workday Championship
The 2021 WGC-Workday Championship was a golf tournament that was played February 25–28 at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. It was the 22nd and final time the WGC Championship has been played and the first of the World Golf Champio ...
at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. Morikawa won by three strokes over Billy Horschel, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka.
On July 18, Morikawa won the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St George's Golf Club
The Royal St George's Golf Club located in Sandwich, Kent, England, is a golf club in the United Kingdom and one of the courses on The Open Championship rotation and is the only Open rota golf course to be located in South East England. It has ...
in Kent, England. Morikawa won by two strokes over Jordan Spieth
Jordan Alexander Spieth (born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion.
Spieth's first maj ...
. He became the first player since Bobby Jones
Bobby or Bobbie may refer to:
People
* Bobby (given name), a list of names
* Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh
* Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea
* Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter
* Bobby, old slang for a const ...
in 1926 to win two majors in eight or fewer starts. He also became the first player to win two different majors in his debut appearance.
In August, Morikawa finished in a tie for 3rd place at the Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
. He lost in a 7-man playoff for the bronze medal.
In September, Morikawa played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup
The 43rd Ryder Cup Matches were held in the United States from September 24–26, 2021, on the Straits course at Whistling Straits, Haven, Wisconsin. Europe was the holder of the Ryder Cup after its win over the United States in 2018 at Le Golf ...
at Whistling Straits
Whistling Straits is one of two 36-hole links-style golf courses associated with Destination Kohler, a luxury golf resort owned and operated by the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin. The other course is Blackwolf Run, located in the Village ...
in Kohler, Wisconsin
Kohler is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Sheboygan River. The population was 2,120 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Originally called Ri ...
. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Morikawa went 3–0–1 including a tie in his Sunday singles match against Viktor Hovland.
In November, he won the European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...
's season ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
The DP World Tour Championship is a golf tournament on the European Tour and is the climax of the DP World Tour Rankings. It is contested on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The t ...
. He also became the first American to win the Race to Dubai
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...
.
2022
In February, Morikawa shot a final-round 65 at the Genesis Invitational to finish tied-second; two shots behind Joaquín Niemann.
Personal life
The son of Debbie and Blaine Morikawa, Morikawa was born in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...
, and is of Chinese-Japanese descent. He graduated from La Cañada High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California
La Cañada Flintridge, commonly known as "La Cañada" (Spanish for "The Canyon"), is a city in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles County, California. Located in the Crescenta Valley, in the western edge of Southern Californ ...
, in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...
. Morikawa graduated from the University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 2019 with a degree in business administration.[
In December 2021, Morikawa got engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Katherine Zhu. They were married on November 26, 2022.
]
Amateur wins
*2013 Western Junior
The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1 ...
*2015 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
The Trans-Mississippi Amateur or Trans-Miss Amateur is an annual amateur golf tournament. It is organized by the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association and was first played in 1901. It is played at a different course each year that are located near o ...
*2016 Silicon Valley Amateur, Sunnehanna Amateur
The Sunnehanna Amateur, officially the Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions, is a men's amateur golf tournament. Founded in 1954, it is hosted annually at the Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is consider ...
*2017 ASU Thunderbird Invitational, Northeast Amateur
*2018 Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, Querencia Cabo Collegiate, Annual Western Intercollegiate
*2019 The Farms Invitational, Pac-12 Championship
Source:
Professional wins (6)
PGA Tour wins (5)
PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)
European Tour wins (4)
*The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
The DP World Tour Championship is a golf tournament on the European Tour and is the climax of the DP World Tour Rankings. It is contested on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The t ...
is also a Rolex Series tournament.
Playoff record
Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)
Major championships
Wins (2)
Results timeline
''Results not in chronological order in 2020.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
Summary
*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (2020 Masters – 2022 U.S. Open)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (2021 PGA – 2022 Masters)
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
World Golf Championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
*Arnold Palmer Cup
The Arnold Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition for college/university golfers. From 2018 it has been contested between a United States team and an International team representing the rest of the world. The teams consist of 12 men and 12 ...
: 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
(winners), 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
(winners)
*Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...
: 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
(winners)
*Eisenhower Trophy
The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...
: 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
Professional
*Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...
: 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
(winners)
*Presidents Cup
The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...
: 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...
(winners)
Notes
References
External links
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*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morikawa, Collin
American male golfers
PGA Tour golfers
Winners of men's major golf championships
Olympic golfers of the United States
Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics
California Golden Bears men's golfers
Golfers from California
American sportspeople of Japanese descent
American sportspeople of Chinese descent
Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
People from La Cañada Flintridge, California
1997 births
Living people