HOT TAKE: Morikawa Is The Next Generational Golfer, Not Koepka

Before getting into it, I think it’s important to note that I’m a Brooks Koepka fan. 

Since 2016 and the departure of Nike from the equipment industry, I’ve appreciated that Koepka helped usher in the new era of golfers who were athletes that combined power and precision on the course.  After becoming a free agent, Kopeka really established himself after he won the first of his four Majors at Erin Hills.

Unfortunately, Koepka’s career stalled out a bit since 2019 due to a variety of injuries.  Confusingly, though, Koepka recently went out on a limb and claimed during an interview with Golf Digest, that he anticipates he’ll win as many majors as Tiger and maybe even pass Jack Nicklaus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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But here’s how I, a Koepka fan anticipate the next 10 to 15 years will play out: Morikawa will be the next golfer to start hunting for 18 Majors.

Indeed, the 24 year old golfer has found a way to already have some noteworthy accomplishments in his brief career, including having the second-longest streak of consecutive cuts to start a professional career (22), which only falls behind (you guessed it) Tiger Woods (25).

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa)

In the nearly 900 days that have passed since Morikawa’s first professional start at the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, Morikawa has found away to secure 2 Major Championship wins—a PGA Championship (2020 at TPC Harding Park) and an Open Championship (2021 at Royal St George’s Golf Club). 

Add in a dominating Ryder Cup victory at Whistling Straits, and Morikawa has already amassed a career that would make many PGA TOUR pros jealous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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But perhaps what separates Morikawa from Koepka and many of the other top ranked golfers in the world is his iron play.  To explain, in 2020 and 2021, Morikawa was 2nd and 1st in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (which measures how strokes a golfer is gaining on the field on tee shots on par-3s, and non-tee shots on par-4 and par-5 holes that are played into the green from distances beyond 30 yards). 

This elite level of iron play also allowed Morikawa to be 5th and 2nd in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green.

This level of play is important to note that Koepka’s best performance when he was on a 4-Major tear between 2016 and 2019 was 5th in Strokes Gained: Putting in 2017, which is particularly interesting given that Koepka’s probably most well-known for his driving prowess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Driving distance and putting are, arguably, the “weak” points in Morikawa’s game, but that’s something he can (hopefully) remedy.  Indeed, Morikawa is only 24 years old and, with the help of Urban Golf Performance, can likely add a few more MPH of driver club head speed so he can really capitalize on his iron play to set up some scoring opportunities. 

As for the flatstick, it appears that Morikawa adopting the “saw” putting grip has really helped him find the bottom of the cup more often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In sum, there are lots of great players on the PGA TOUR—Rory McIlroy just nabbed his 20th PGA TOUR victory, Xander Schauffele is an Olympic Gold Medalist, and Bryson DeChambeau is gearing up to start driving par-5s. 

If anybody stands out, its hard to ignore that the guy who’s capable of firing at pins with laser precision isn’t poised for record book success.

Cover Image Via Instagram