Masters rookie Collin Morikawa unfazed by challenge of Augusta National as he puts trust in his ‘process’

PGA Championship winner believes the feeling of taking on Augusta for the first time will be no different to what he has already faced on the 2020 circuit as he steps into the unknown once again

Frank Pingue
Tuesday 10 November 2020 04:18 EST
Comments
Tiger Woods celebrates Masters victory - 11 years after last major title

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Masters rookie Collin Morikawa will take on Augusta National for the first time this week and the PGA Championship winner said on Monday he fully trusts his process and is not intimidated by the challenge that awaits.

Morikawa, 23, has taken the golf world by storm and the three-times PGA Tour winner is not about to let the mystique of Augusta National get in the way of his Green Jacket dreams.

"Every course I've pretty much played over the last year and a half, I've never seen," Morikawa said during a news conference at Augusta National Golf Club.

"I'm not afraid of any course out here ... I wouldn't say I focus more on certain courses than others because I come out every week, Monday through Wednesday to figure out by Thursday morning, I'm ready to play golf."

Morikawa is three months removed from his major breakthrough at the PGA Championship where he made a late eagle en route to two-shot victory at TPC Harding, a layout he got to know while he was a collegiate golfer at the University of California.

And while Morikawa fully admits that experience on a course never hurts, he feels he already has a similar mindset to some of the more seasoned players on the PGA Tour who have been making regular Masters appearances for years.

"I've fast tracked that process a little bit, even though I haven't played these courses or played the Masters before," said Morikawa. "I'm comfortable coming out here. Everyone's different, but that's just me."

Morikawa has mostly struggled since picking up his major title but said that does not mean his golf is not sharp and that his game actually feels like it did before the PGA Championship.

"I've done my prep work so far to get my game where it needs to be," said Morikawa. "You want to show up to these majors not really working on anything, just being ready to play golf. And I think over the past couple weeks, I've put myself there."

Reuters

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in