SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 14, 2021

Collin Morikawa

Waialae Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. It was an entertaining round of golf but I have to imagine that big putts that you make after losing that ball on 12 have to be the proudest moments.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, bounce-backs are huge. And you never want to have a double and you never want to lose a ball especially out here. It was good to get those back-to-back birdies right after.

Q. These greens, you know you have to putt well to succeed well here. Outside of the short miss on 15, it looked like some of the short ones on the front nine were giving you some fits but to roll in the long ones balanced out what you need to do on the greens.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I haven't seen too many putts go in from that distance. It was kind of nice. But it's a quick little fix. I had some pretty good putts coming down the stretch right after 15 and going to do some work now. I've got three more days, and you have to make putts out here.

Q. This week off of last week, it's great to be in the islands, but here more that city vibe. With the family ties, what's this week like for you with a full field and all the responsibilities, how do you balance it?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I just have to remember that I'm out here to play golf. It's tough because we're in Hawai'i and I'm in Hawai'i for two weeks and you want to go out and have fun. But at the end of the day, we need to come here and play four really good days.

So that's been my focus, just trying to get ready by Thursday and just get some prep for tomorrow.

Q. Six birdies, but a double-bogey. How would you assess this round?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It wasn't great but I made something out of it. You're going to hit bad shots and it's going to happen but I was able to make a couple bounce-back birdies right after and kept the momentum up. I'm going to have to do a lot of work and guys are still going to make a lot of birdies the next few days. Just wasn't there today.

Q. Did you feel like you could be more aggressive from a strategy perspective considering there wasn't much wind?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: A little bit towards the back nine. The greens are firming up. You're getting some bounce in the fairways so you've got to be protective on where you're going to miss. But with some short irons and wedges in hand, you can definitely get more aggressive.

Q. Very solid round out there, minus one swing. How are you able to regroup after that, making birdie on 13 and get the round back on track?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I knew I was hitting good shots, good approach shots. I just needed to give myself a few more chances. I had some good holes, 13, 14. 16 is a short hole and there's some definitely birdie opportunities. I wasn't going to let one swing kind of get in the way of the entire round.

Q. Did you think that was in the hazard there? Was it lost?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I thought it was going to be in the hazard or hit the tree. We heard it hit the tree. We just didn't know where it went. And it sucks. It sucks; if one person might have been there, they might have saw it bounce, maybe, in the hazard. That's golf. I should have never been over there in the first place, but it happens.

Q. Did you have to play that as a lost ball?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, because we didn't know where the ball was.

Q. What's one thing you want to improve upon for tomorrow's round to maybe get a little more out of it?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I have to get better off the tee. Fairways are getting firmer. Greens are getting bouncy. Fairways are going to be key. Try make a few more inside ten feet. I didn't really hit putts right now, and I've got to work on some right now speed now and hopefully be good for the rest of the week.