2021 Ryder Cup: Power ranking the top 10 players at Whistling Straits
As long as Collin Morikawa is healthy as he said he was prior to the Tour Championship, he’ll be relied upon to try to lead the Americans to victory.
The 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 The Open winner finished first on the team in qualifying points. Still just 24, Morikawa has been a beacon of consistency throughout his few years on tour, save for recent weeks dealing with a back injury.
He’s had a couple weeks off since a disappointing 28th place finish at the Tour Championship. He did start the net scoring tournament seven shots off the pace, however.
It’s easy to dwell on what happened most recently, but he deserves credit for the outstanding run of golf he had in 2021.
Not only did he win at Royal St. George’s, but Morikawa also got it done against an elite field at the WGC-Workday Championship. The former Cal Golden BEar only missed one cut all year.
Morikawa is debuting at Whistling Straits.
It’s his first time representing the U.S.A. in team competition as a pro. Morikawa was on winning Palmer Cup teams in 2017 and 2018 and on the winning 2017 Ryder Cup team.
Due to his pleasant demeanor and calm under pressure, he seems like he could pair well with anyone and should be trusty in alternate shot.
Morikawa’s got enough length off the tee to hang with the big boys, but his iron play is his biggest strength. The former Cal Golden Bear led the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach last season by a mile (1.17).
Injury concerns and an inconsistent putter are a couple concerns, but the positives seem to outweigh the negatives for this Ryder Cup rookie.