MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 12, 2024

Collin Morikawa

Quick Quotes

Q. How was the walk?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It was long. Told Tommy in scoring it felt like we were out there for a long time. It's been a long 36 holes but a good one.

Q. What did you do best today?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just kept the ball in front of me. Look, I've been grinding and had to find something in a swing thought to work this week, and we found something early on Monday, and we're just kind of sticking with that. It's still not perfect, but perfect doesn't have to be out there. I'm able to play good golf and plot my way around this golf course. Especially with the wind out here, you had to just kind of really stay patient out there.

Q. What was that swing thought?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I'm not going to divulge.

Q. You don't want to give away any free tips?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: No.

Q. Do you feel like you're just being an athlete out there?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, look, I had to find a swing thought because I actually wasn't thinking that much, so it's a good thing. Sometimes you need one swing thought, and I just had to find what was working. It's a good time for it to start coming together.

Q. What does it tell you that it's coming together under some of the toughest conditions?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Look, this is exactly where I'd want to be. Obviously I'd rather be a little lower and closer to the lead, but for right now after I've been playing the past kind of month, I'm very, very happy. It feels like I have control of the golf ball, and that's the biggest thing. My irons have been holding me back, and normally that's not the case. It's kind of nice to just hit some quality golf shots.

I got lucky today on 5 and took advantage of that and made birdie, and just to have some kick-ins, some shorter birdie putts, I miss that.

Q. What's it like to come into a major on Saturday and Sunday and you don't really know what you've got? You don't have that swing thought that you found on Monday?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: You know, that was kind of what I had at U.S. Open at Brookline. I was playing a draw, and truthfully didn't know where the ball was going, and it caught up, and still was able to put together a good round on Sunday.

I feel definitely way more in control with my ball than I did back then at Brookline, so that's a positive thing. Look, I think winds are going to be down tomorrow, so scores are going to be low. You're going to see some red numbers. I'm sure greens are going to be drying out, and you can tell on a couple greens out here that they're going to get a little bit bouncy. I've just got to keep plotting my way around this golf course and sticking to my game plan.

Q. (On where he was when play suspended on Thursday)

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah.

Q. Do you feel like it was a benefit, you got to reset in the middle of the first round?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It wasn't a benefit. I felt fine. I was contemplating hitting that second shot on 11, but it's not fun starting your first shot in the morning at 8:00 a.m. on 11 hitting a 4-iron.

But I got in a groove, and that was kind of nice. For the rest of the round from 12 to 17, I had birdie putts inside 12 feet, and that's just old me. If I can just kind of continue that and give myself those looks, we'll be really happy come these next few days.

Q. Is there anything you can use from your experience on a day like today?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I've played in it all. I've played major championships. I kind of know how they are. You just can't give up. Just because I grinded through these first two days does not mean it's going to be easy. It's going to keep getting tougher, shots are going to be harder, and you've just got to stick to it.

Q. Do you have the shot shape that you like?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I'm definitely seeing the cut. It's not perfect, but I'm seeing some shots. I'm hitting better quality shots. I've just got to stick to that for the next two.