Has Collin Morikawa Peaked or Is He Just Heating Up?

The 26–year–old Collin Morikawa is frustrated by his game this season. His winless drought started in the 2021 Open Championship, in which he wowed golf fans by winning 2 Majors and also 5 PGA Tour Wins. Morikawa started the season steadily, finishing solo 2nd at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and a third-place finish the following tournament at the Farmers Insurance Open. After those tournaments, Morikawa has only finished inside the top 10 once and tied for 10th at the Masters.

He had a solid showing in the U.S. Open, finishing 14th but not enough to contend. He withdrew, citing a back injury after 3 rounds at The Memorial Tournament, which Jack Nicklaus hosted. Could this have been a lingering issue throughout the season for him? We first learned of the history of the back injuries for Collin Morikawa during the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Ready to get going this week @RocketClassic pic.twitter.com/0GySVzxi2u

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) June 26, 2023

After playing for the second straight week, he started off cold in the first round last week at the Travelers Championship, shooting 74 but rebounded with a 63 in the second round. However, he came up short, missing the cut by a single shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rocket Mortgage Classic (@rocketclassic)

As a result of this, this will leave Morikawa hungry for more after playing a solid round of golf and not being able to compete on the weekend. He will definitely be a player to look out for this week, making his debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

While in the meantime, he has roughly 3 weeks to prepare for the 2023 Open Championship. Despite Morikawa’s frustrations, he is still in a solid position in the FedEx Cup Points, being 32nd place which puts him on the bubble for the Tour Championship.

Maybe a win here this week will open the floodgates for Morikawa to go back to his winning ways. But can his back withstand three straight weeks of tournament golf?

Cover Image Via OddsShopper