Can Slumping Collin Morikawa Come Alive During The Playoffs?

Has Collin Morikawa disappointed this season? or were expectations simply too high coming into the year for the two-time major winner?

For the first time since turning professional back in 2019, Collin Morikawa failed to register a win on the PGA Tour this season.

Sure, he had some close calls early in the season at both the CJ Cup, where he finished runner-up to eventual winner Rory McIlroy, and at the Genesis Invitational where he again finished runner-up, this time to Joaquin Niemann.

But as the season progressed there were very few occasions when it felt like Collin Morikawa was ever really in contention.

Last year’s ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’ had strong showings at this year’s Masters (5th) and particularly at the U.S. Open (5th) at Brookline in June when Morikawa threatened to contend going into Sunday before those dreams were dashed after a Saturday, 77.

After missing just one cut all season prior, the impressive 25-year-old has now missed three in his last four starts.

Two of those came in Scotland, including one at the 150th Open Championship where Collin Morikawa failed to even make the weekend in his defense of the Claret Jug.

That was the last time we saw Collin and now he makes his way to Memphis, Tennessee, this week for the first leg of this year’s FedEx Cup playoffs as he looks to right the ship following his first winless season on the PGA Tour.

Can Collin Morikawa end his season with a flourish during the FedEx Cup playoffs?

The 2020 PGA Champion has now made the FedEx Cup playoffs in each of his first four years since turning professional. Morikawa missed out on the Tour Championship in 2019, but since then has made the playoff finale at East Lake in both of the last two seasons.

Collin Morikawa’s run through last year’s playoffs was largely underwhelming after missing the cut at the Northern Trust, finishing 63rd at the BMW Championship, and ending with a 26th in Atlanta.

He will be hoping for a stronger run through the playoffs this time around, but after a fairly disappointing season in which so much was expected of him, can he actually finish the year on a high note?

It would certainly be fair to scrutinize the lofty expectations placed upon the young man’s shoulders coming into the season, but after beginning the year as the number two ranked player in the world, it is at least understandable why expectations may have been so high.

The six-time career winner begins the 2022 FedEx Cup playoff run ranked 22nd in the latest standings, and as things stand would be heading to East Lake for the Tour Championship once again, with the top 30 in the final standings advancing to the postseason finale.

Collin Morikawa remains one of the best ball-strikers on the planet ranking inside of the top five in approach over the last three seasons.

The 25-year-old’s struggles with the putter have been well documented throughout the early part of his career, but Morikawa has even made strides in that area this season. He is up to 93rd in putting on Tour this season, a climb of nearly 100 spots in comparison to where he was at last year.

Unfortunately for Collin, while he has made strides with the putter this season his around-the-green performance has drastically fallen off. He is down from 86th last season to 166th in that same department during the 2021-22 PGA season, an area in which he will need to improve over the next couple of weeks as he looks to pick up a win or two during the playoffs.

Morikawa can beat anyone when at his very best as he has demonstrated already throughout his young career, a fact that makes his current slump that much more baffling.

The talent is certainly there for Collin to make a run during this year’s FedEx Cup playoffs, but whether or not he can pick up his first win stateside this year will come down to finding some type of consistency over the next few weeks.