MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 10, 2022

Collin Morikawa

Quick Quotes

Q. Collin, for all you have experienced in golf, this was kind of your first true Masters Sunday. How did it compare to what you've experienced before?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It's amazing. Even on Thursday the crowds following Tiger and hearing those roars, I've never heard anything like it.

I've been able to play with Tiger pre-COVID at Torrey. That was my first time, and I could experience what fans are like, but it's nothing like out here and the echos and the roars. And what you just saw on the last hole with me and Rory, that was the coolest thing in the world.

Q. You spoke this week about trying to play your game out here, not trying to listen to anybody else but to make your own strategy. How do you feel about that strategy going forward now?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I love it. I think I'm going to make sure to do that just really anywhere I go, but these four days I felt the most comfortable with my game. I felt the most comfortable on this golf course. I felt like I was playing Collin golf, and I have to do that. I think it's possible to win out here playing that style of golf.

Some of these holes with the winds the way it played this year made it a little easier, so we'll see on certain tee shots in the future, but, look, I think it's very doable with the style of golf I play.

Q. Best ball like 11-under. How much do you feed off of someone else when they're playing like Rory?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think he had a couple of birdies where he chipped in, and I was, like, really close or I was kind of tap-in range. You just kind of feed -- you just kind of use that momentum and just keep going.

We didn't really hit great tee shots coming down the stretch, but we were able just to get away with pars and just kind of keep that pace going. That's what's nice.

It kind of started off early, and then it kept going all the way. Obviously, what happened on 18 was just a lot of excitement.

Q. What did you tell him on 18?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: He played phenomenal golf today. He put himself in some pretty tough spots, got out. The shot he hit on 7 today was ridiculous. Out of the trees, through the little gap. J.J. said he walked over there on that line and really didn't even see a gap running it up.

Most of the time you have a little angle, but it was a really good shot. But overall just great playing.

Q. With how Scottie is playing, does seeing another kid, guy, around your age doing what he is doing, does that motivate you to keep pushing even harder knowing he is going to be another one who is challenging for another decade to come?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Look, there's always going to be this young guy. There's always going to be guys my age. For me it's just how do I go from where -- how I played today and bring that on Thursday and Friday and Saturday and put myself in contention?

I said at the beginning of the week, if I could put myself in contention on the back nine, it would be a good week, and you kind of just let things play out, right? Just wasn't able to do that.

For me it's not motivation just to watch Scottie. Scottie has been playing phenomenal golf. It's great to see for him. As it relates to myself and how I kind of motivate myself, I just have to tighten things up and stop making mistakes.

Q. Do you think the changes on 11 and 15 are to your benefit?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: No. I need to hit it longer, no.

Q. Just because so few guys went for 15 after all.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I guess. It also depended on the wind. Look, if we didn't get rain, guys would have gone for it a lot more. On Monday I had 5-iron in. So a lot more guys would have went for it. It also would have made the fairway tougher to hit. You have to keep it down that right side.

11, I do like how they kind of took a lot of the trees out on the right. It didn't really work today, but you can get away with a little bit more of a right miss. But they're small, minute changes where you still have to hit really good golf shots. 11 is -- I've struggled on just from tee to green, and I've got to figure out how to play that a little bit better.

Q. Did you learn anything from Rory's game today that you can use going forward on this golf course?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Hit it 380 off like hole 2. Look, I've always admired Rory's game. It's a completely different game than what I play. He hits big, sweeping draws -- not sweeping draws. That's exaggerated. He hits high draws, but he plays a different game.

From my perspective, he just kind of kept it in play, and when he was in trouble, he made sure and he played the right shot pitching it out. That's the thing. I kind of get a little greedy sometimes when I hit it out of play, and I want to hit that hero shot. Sometimes those hero shots are by accident. I think he is playing the right shots. I think that's the biggest thing going forward.

Q. When Scottie is way out front like that, I don't know if you are a scoreboard watcher, but do you feel like since he probably has to take a step back, that maybe you look at the scoreboard more often?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I always look at the scoreboard. I always know where I stand. Why wouldn't I? It's good to know where you stand. I wouldn't want to walk up 18 knowing I need to make birdie and make par the easy way.

It doesn't change how I play. It might change the game plan and how I execute things going forward, but I always like to know where I'm at.

Q. What is the battle memory from Scottie? Would you have played the Western that he won, or is there another tournament that kind of sticks out?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think I played the Western. I don't think I played well. No. I only remember making a hole-in-one on 15 at LECC. Him and Cameron Champ were in my group, and I remember looking at the tee and they were just smiling back. I was hitting it well that week, and good times.

Q. He was one of the last guys on that team, I think, and then Will. Did you notice that he acted like, even back then, someone who belonged?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just because you're the 10th man or the 12th man in doesn't mean we disrespect you more or less. We're all great golfers. We're talking about the 12 best in the country, in the world. When it was that time at the Walker Cup, when it was this time at the Ryder Cup, not at all. We're all rookies. The title rookie kind of sticks with us quite a bit during those weeks. This is your first Walker Cup. This is your first Ryder Cup.

So when those things happen, it's just, you know, who is ready to embrace the moment, and I think we've always been ready, and we've always -- he has always shown up. I've always shown up. It's cool to see literally what he has done in this two-month stretch. I knew it was coming. I knew good golf was coming and a win was going to come, but, man, to have this kind of stretch is pretty unbelievable.

Q. You said you got back to playing Collin golf this week. How would you describe Collin golf?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just a lot of cuts. It really is. It's because of what happened earlier this year. I was slicing the ball, and then I started trying to draw the ball, so Riv was a perfect medium. Then in between Riv and this week was me trying to figure out where the ball was going to go.

It was just kind of aim and hope it goes there and hope it cuts, but this week just a lot more committed shots, a lot more just feeling the shot, and that's what I do. I kind of just step up and feel an 8-iron or feel a 7-iron in there even when J.J. might not feel exactly the same. As long as I'm comfortable, that's kind of what matters.

Q. Can we call a straight ball a Collin draw now?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Pretty much. I was trying to hit a draw on 17 -- not a draw. A straight ball. Look at my tee shots on 10 and 13. They were nice draws. Look at all week. There were great draws.

Q. 3-woods?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I'm cheating it, but that's okay.

Q. Did you sense anything in Rory's attitude or in his focus? He obviously makes that great putt on the 1. Did he click into something that felt a little more focused and just intense?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: You can always look at someone's walk, and it's funny because I played with Will Zalatoris yesterday, and he walks pretty fast. When you look at someone's walk, you can kind of see their demeanor and how they kind of move through things. From that first tee shot, I think both of us, especially him, he was moving at a nice pace. He was moving at a comfortable pace. Not rush, but not going slow and just getting to the next tee shot or getting to the next ball and just going from there.

It was never staying on the shot he had just hit for too long. It was never rushing to the next shot. It was kind of just a good pace. That's the biggest thing. It's hard to describe how to do that. I mean, we can't time out our steps, but, yeah, I think if you look at it as a whole, that's kind of what it is. It's a good rhythm. Not just in our golf swings, not just over the ball, but throughout the entire day.