Collin Morikawa, his wife Katherine, and his agent had a special dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, a well-known sushi restaurant , earlier in the week of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.
Even the 97-year-old owner and operator of the restaurant, Jiro Ono, the master of sushi, was brought in by Morikawa and his group to prepare their meals. Morikawa acknowledged that the sushi was so wonderful that he might never want to eat it again.
“I’m at a loss for words, other than to say that it was an amazing experience and a privilege to be seated in front of him and watch pure ability. Well, it’s art. Anybody who truly loves what they do may, in my opinion, be seen doing it, as seen by the artwork that represents their passion. We were quite fortunate.” Morikawa said.
A few days later, Morikawa had won his sixth career PGA TOUR title—the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP—following a final-round score of 63. Enhanced by a birdie on the 72nd hole, the final round performance was devoid of bogies. It was the best round of the week. He won by a margin of 6.
It was amazing to behold.
Morikawa has not triumphed on the PGA TOUR since 2021’s The Open Championship heading into this week. After winning the DP World Tour Championship in that same year, he had not achieved any major success.
In a little over a year, he won five times on the TOUR. He would need to wait another 24 months, or thereabouts, to secure victory number 6.
Of course, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Morikawa has 6 top-10 results this season going into this week, including a runner-up finish at The Sentry and a 3rd place showing at the Farmers Insurance Open, his following tournament. This summer, he came within a win of ending his losing streak when he lost to Rickie Fowler in a playoff game at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
“It was not as though I didn’t think I would win again or that it wouldn’t occur. It was more about the timing of it, isn’t that right ? I believe that ideas like “okay, well, what did I do differently, what do I need to change” begin to accumulate in your mind.” he said after the first round.
According to Morikawa, he hasn’t made many pivots. As ever, his games has been complete in the Zozo championship. He placed 4th this season in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, 2nd in Approach Strokes Gained, and 10th in Total Strokes Gained. Morikawa is just calculated. Every time. His putting, which is arguably the only aspect of his game that isn’t as good as his ball striking (he ranks 112th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season), was excellent this past week in Japan.
Morikawa reported that he and caddie Jonathan Jakovac attempted to improve their green reading and consistency for about three hours on Wednesday.
“When things come together like that, it’s fantastic. Even the ones that were missing had excellent looks and were nice putts. I’ve just reached a stage where I know that if I hit the ball with good speed, it will have a good chance of finding the hole.” he said.
Morikawa recorded 7 birdies on his way to a final-round score of 63 on Sunday at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, demonstrating that exceptional effort with the flatstick. It was the lowest round of the day, 2 shots better than everyone else’s.
“As it turns out, would have needed to play exceptionally well today to prevail. Isn’t that what winners do, then? Bravo to Collin; he’s a seasoned winner on the greatest stages,” exclaimed second-place finisher Beau Hossler.
Morikawa, who was two shots behind Justin Suh after 54 holes, started the day well on Sunday, leading by two strokes after six holes. Despite this, Suh struggled and was 2 over through 4 and 3 over through 9. During the halfway of his Sunday round, Morikawa put on a show, birdieing the 8th and 9th holes in succession before adding another on the 12th par-4.
“The game has a great feel to it. With 9 holes remaining, knowing that I was 2 down and wanting to give myself a chance, everything kind of connected, and we were able to make the par putts when necessary and end the front 9 with a birdie on the 8th and 9th holes.” Morikawa said.
By the time he birdied the 15th par-4, his triumph was all but certain, and the only thing left to decide was how much of a margin of victory he would have before the final circle on the 72nd hole on the card.
With the greatest six-shot victory in the history of the competition, Morikawa now owns a ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, joining the ranks of winners that include Tiger Woods and national icon Hideki Matsuyama.
“It feels amazing. Every victory is so unique, and every experience ; winning or losing ; teaches you a lot, but this one truly meant the world” said Morikawa.
Now that Morikawa and his wife are getting closer to celebrating their first wedding anniversary, they will take a two-week vacation around Asia. The victory was unique. That was a unique week. The golf artist, Morikawa, made a spectacular comeback.
