A scorching 10-under-par 62 nearly vaulted Collin Morikawa from an afterthought to a champion last week at the CJ Cup. He’s a Las Vegas resident who was able to use his local knowledge to finish solo second place and just one shot back of Rory McIlroy.
Morikawa opened with rounds of 67-70-65. The Cal-Berkeley grad was fairly solid all around at The Summit Club, particularly with his iron play. That’s nothing new. He was fourth in the field, gaining 4.877 strokes on approach for the week.
The 24-year-old was also 11th in SG putting (3.856), which is a good sign for the man who was outside the top 100 on the PGA Tour last season.
It was a continuation of solid play at the Ryder Cup where he went 3-0-1 and was a good pairing with Dustin Johnson.
Morikawa had some injury issues that limited his FedEx Cup Playoffs run, but he appears back in good health and playing the way that he was to win the 2021 Open Championship.
Now, he’s back at the Zozo Championship after finishing T-22nd (71-64-69-70) in his tournament debut as a pro rookie in 2019. Morikawa made just five bogeys (T-2nd) and was T-3rd in scrambling (77.27%).
Morikawa is American-born but of Japanese heritage, so one can get the sense that this week is of greater magnitude for this young talent.
“In the few times that I’ve visited Japan, I’ve really enjoyed the experience of being over there as the Japanese people love their golf and support the game in a very big way,” Morikawa was quoted by the PGA Tour. “I’m looking forward to going over again and challenging for a win which would be a really nice way to get the new 2021-22 PGA Tour season started.”
Morikawa is a good course fit at Narashino. He hits it long and straight and should avoid tree trouble if he’s on his game.
Jet lag may be an issue coming from Las Vegas, but he’s young and travel isn’t what it used to be for touring pros.
I like him to relish the opportunity to win in a country that will adore him and last saw Tiger Woods win the last time the Zozo was in town.