PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 23, 2021

Collin Morikawa

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Quick Quotes

JOHN DEVER: We're with the 2020 PGA champion Collin Morikawa, who finished his championship with a really good number, 4-under 68. Terrific round, kind of ended on a good note for yourself here.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I look back and I pretty much forgot about Friday and Saturday. It kind of sucks that those two days I played like that, but that's golf, and you kind of learn.

. But it's always nice to finish on a 68 in a major and just kind of use that momentum for the rest of the summer. You've got a big lineup of tournaments so just to kind of keep the good things going and work on what I need to, it's really exciting.

Q. Perhaps it's not the ultimate result you would have liked if we had this conversation Tuesday or Wednesday, but you must have learned a little bit about yourself coming here as the defending champion, how to be the defending champion. Do those learnings or those things you can take forward to the next time?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I think I said it earlier in the week, you've got a little extra weight on your back just being the defending champion. People want to take the trophy from you. Someone is going to take that away come later today, but I enjoy it. I enjoy being in that position. You want to be in those positions because it shows that you've succeeded, you've played well the past year somewhere, at that course or whether it's at a different course.

So I hope to keep defending. I hope to have more title defenses and all this stuff because it just means you're doing something great.

Q. Talk about the wind, the much-anticipated wind reversal seems to have happened. How much did it change the golf course for you and what are the leaders going to experience here this afternoon?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I think coming into today, I thought it was actually going to be a little more into on that first stretch of the back nine. It turned out it was a little more off the left, so you're going to get a little more crosswinds than straight into and straight down, and I think that just makes it interesting with some of the pin locations. You've got to really pick out your spots where you're going to hit it.

But I think you're going to have some fireworks come 16 and 17. 16 tees are up. It's very gettable. I think Brooks and Phil could easily get there if they hit driver, 5-iron, even. Hopefully you see some spectacular shot and someone wins the tournament, not loses it somehow.

Q. I was wondering what you thought about the golf course, and do you think this layout deserves another one of these kind of championships down the road some day?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I'm actually glad I played it during the media day because I think I had it the toughest when I played it about a month ago. Winds were like double the wind speed we're getting now this week. I tipped it out as far as I could. When.

I was playing 12 and 13, I was hitting 4-irons into the green, and today I think I hit 8-iron and 7-iron. Tees were up, wind wasn't as bad. I think overall you could see what kind of scores this brought. It didn't really add too much separation. There was separation, which is good, but it showed that really any kind of game out here could play, and I think it was an awesome golf course to be out for this week, especially for a PGA Championship.

Q. Would you like to come back in a few years if they held another one of these things out here?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I'd love to. I know they've got a bunch of courses already lined up for the future in the next handful of years, but I enjoyed it. I see myself playing well out here, and I don't see that changing in 10 years or so.

Q. What do you think of Phil, what he's done to date? He's still ahead here three, four holes in. What kind of accomplishment do you think this might be if he can get to the end road?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It would be amazing. This is a guy I've watched my entire life, and to see him actually go out and contend, lead and come out today trying to win this championship, it's amazing. It just shows kind of the longevity of Phil and his career.

To see what he's doing, he's 50, 51, something like that, I mean, that's amazing. And to see him just wanting to keep getting better, wanting to learn, I hope when I hit that age I'm still trying to do that, trying to get better. You can just see it in his eyes that he wants to win, and nothing is really stopping him.

JOHN DEVER: Thanks so much for everything, not only this week, but for the last year. Dignity and class as the PGA Champ, and we look forward to a continued relationship.