Collin Morikawa, citing a back injury, pulled out of the live streaming event just a few hours before the match-play tournament started.

pic.twitter.com/enYpeKJTqO

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) November 14, 2023

The two-time major champ was replaced by Tony Finau in the competition pitting two-man teams comprised of one golfer and one driver. Finau will now play with Pierre Gasly, while Justin Thomas-Carlos Sainz, Rickie Fowler-Lando Norris, and Max Homa-Alex Albon make up the other three teams teeing it up at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

According to a Netflix tweet, Morikawa will still be part of the live broadcast.

This Just In: Tony Finau will replace Collin Morikawa as Pierre Gasly’s partner in The Netflix Cup, streaming live today at 3pm PT/6pm ET — but Morikawa will still be a part of the live broadcast! pic.twitter.com/I16gszFbuu

— Netflix (@netflix) November 14, 2023

The made-for-TVStreaming event is Netflix’s first attempt at a live sporting event. And it combines stars from two of its popular docuseries, “Drive to Survive” and “Full Swing.”

Morikawa ended a two-year winless drought last month at the Zozo Championship. The 26-year-old is currently No. 13 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Image: Lintao Zhang

The post Collin Morikawa pulls out of Netflix Cup at last minute with back injury appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

But that wasn’t all that he said. With cameras rolling, Morikawa stammered out something he probably shouldn’t have; something that, if true, probably says a lot about the state of US team golf in November 2023. Check it out.

???‍?Collin Morikawa’s was ecstatic as he received the call to join @WeAreLAGC from @alexisohanian: “I just got chills through my body, I don’t think I’ve ever answered a call like this, I got my Ryder Cup call this year, but I think this tops it almost.”

{?: @WeAreLAGC} pic.twitter.com/E0Yms5Vy4h

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) November 1, 2023

“I just got chills through my body. I don’t think I’ve ever answered a call like this,” Morikawa said. “I mean, I got my Ryder Cup call this year, but this is … I think this tops it almost.”

As you’ve probably heard, the US Ryder Cup performance in Rome earlier this fall was a disaster. Morikawa and co. were effectively finished by the start of Friday’s afternoon session and the rest of the weekend was marred by ignominious benchmarks (including a record 9-and-7 defeat for Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler on Saturday) and rumours of internal friction.

Hat Gate needs no further embellishment, but Xander Schauffele was also reportedly unhappy with the terms of his offer and sought to renegotiate at the last second. It was messy. It was complicated. We’ll never know the whole truth, but Morikawa’s off-the-cuff claim on Wednesday sums up the vibes, or lack thereof, succinctly.

We’ll see if there’s more buy-in (literally) from the PGA of America in 2025 and if that reinvigorates players like Morikawa. If not, expect the Ryder Cup to matter less and less and big-money side gigs like the TGL to matter more and more. Call it greedy, call it unpatriotic, but that’s just capitalism, baby.

Main image: Ben Jared

The post Collin Morikawa admits the call to join the TGL topped his Ryder Cup call-up, says the quiet part loud appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Even during this week at the Zozo, as Morikawa moved into contention, he downplayed what it might mean for him to win in Japan. “Look,” he said, “a win’s a win. I’ll take it anywhere, right?”

Spoken like a man who hadn’t lifted a trophy on the PGA Tour since July 2021, when the 26-year-old captured his second major in his inaugural Open Championship start at Royal St George’s. Morikawa also won the DP World Tour Championship late in ’21, but since then had some big misses on Sundays, with four runners-up, including blowing a six-shot lead at the 2023 season-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions and falling over the summer in a playoff in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where Rickie Fowler ended his own long dry spell.

As it turned out, Morikawa’s six-shot victory on Sunday in the Zozo — forged with a nearly flawless seven-under 63 as much of America slept — created deep satisfaction for the World No. 20 on numerous levels. He snapped his winless streak in his last official tour start of ’23, created tremendous confidence heading into the new year and cemented his standing as yet another hero in Japan golf.

Consider the small island country’s golf bounty of late: Tiger Woods won the inaugural Zozo Championship in 2019 for his record-tying 82nd tour victory; Hideki Matsuyama captured the 2021 Masters, and later that year Xander Schauffele, with Japanese heritage, won the gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. And then Matusyama seized the 2021 Zozo in its return to his home country after the pandemic.

A player of Morikawa’s stature again winning the Zozo only further sollidfies the touranment’s worldwide standing.

“This means the world,” Morikawa of his sixth PGA Tour win, not meaning to create a pun, though he has now won tournaments in England, Dubai and Japan, as well as California, Ohio and Florida.

“It feels so good. I can’t even explain it,” added Morikawa, whose 14-under total, after starting the final round two strokes back, bested the runners-up at eight under, Beau Hossler (70) and Eric Cole (70). “I knew I was going to get here at some point. It’s like getting your first win, your first major, whatever … people start asking questions, they start asking the ‘why.’ I really had to look back and ask myself what’s wrong. What is the ‘why’? What’s the reason behind finishing second or fifth versus a win.”

Some would say the troubles continued to be with Morikawa’s putting. A superior ball-striker who ranked second in Strokes Gained/Approach heading into this week, Morikawa has always been a streaky putter, and this year was no different. He entered the Zozo ranked 112th in SG/putting, losing 0.109 strokes to the field per round.

On Wednesday this week, he went straight from his pro-am round to the practice green, where Morikawa said he spent more than two hours “grinding” on his putting. “Just trying to figure out how to read these greens,” he said on Sunday. “How to get a little more consistency, take out a few variables. Texted a couple of buddies on certain little things, and it was nice to see it click like that.”

Click it did, with Morikawa draining a field-best 24 birdies while ranking second in putts per green in regulation. That, combined with tying for third in GIR (73.61 per cent), and it was one of those weeks that Morikawa seemed destined to dominate.

After opening with a 64, but then struggling to a 73 in the wind-blown second round, Morikawa did have an early stumble on Saturday. He drove next to a tree on the first hole and had to punch out in eventually suffering a double bogey. After another bogey with a three-putt at No. 4, Morikawa was nine shots off the lead.

But over the final 32 holes, he shot 14 under in a stretch that included him closing with five birdies over his last six holes in a third-round 66. On Sunday, Morikawa seized control with four birdies on a front nine of 30 and cruised in with three more birdies, including one very satisfying roll into the cup on the last.

“It just got to the point today, if I put good speed on it, the ball is going to have a great chance to go into the hole,” Morikawa said.

It doesn’t get much better than finishing the year on such a high note. Morikawa’s wife, Katherine Zhu, stood quietly at greenside with a smile on her face as he finished up. The couple are approaching their one-year wedding anniversary on Nov. 26 and plan to spend a couple of weeks on vacation.

At some point, they may happily hum the Imagine Dragons tune played as their wedding processional. It’s called “On Top of the World.”

Main image: Yoshimasa Nakano

The post Collin Morikawa halts winless string with stunning Sunday and six-shot win in Zozo appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The streaming service is copying the success of “The Match” celebrity series by fusing two of its programmes — the golf-centric “Full Swing” and F1 series “Drive to Survive” — for a made-for-TV (or second-screen) spectacle. “The Netflix Cup” will be the streamer’s first live sporting event, pitting the aforementioned golfers with four drivers in a match play tournament at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

The Wynn — a Tom Fazio design in Nevada — has previously hosted three of the last four iterations of“The Match.”

“The PGA Tour is proud to participate in this significant milestone for Netflix and we look forward to showcasing our sport’s professional athletes to a live global audience,” said Norb Gambuzza, PGA Tour senior vice president of media and gaming. “New and diverse audiences have come to know more about both our sports and their athletes through ‘Full Swing’ and ‘Drive to Survive’, and we are excited to team up with Netflix, Formula 1 and the Las Vegas Grand Prix on this exciting concept.”

Netflix released the first season of “Full Swing” — a docudrama that takes viewers behind the scenes of professional golfers’ lives on and off the course — this past February. According to the tour, data indicates the show had a significant impact on TV ratings this past season. “Full Swing” was available in 190 countries and 32 languages and it reached Netflix Top 10 worldwide, including No. 2 in the US and UK, and No. 1 in Ireland.

The event will air on Tuesday, November 14.

Main image: Andrew Redington

The post Rickie, Max, JT and Collin to star in Netflix’s first live golf match appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The fans weren’t clapping for Collin Morikawa in Round 1 of the Tour Championship, despite the two-time major winner lighting up East Lake with one of the lowest rounds ever recorded at the PGA Tour’s season finale.

Morikawa blitzed his way into a share of the lead with Keegan Bradley and Viktor Hovland at 10-under courtesy of a nine-under 61.

The two-time major champion started nine shots behind Scottie Scheffler. But that didn’t last long with a front nine that included four approach shots that settled within 10 feet, and two of those on the back side. At East Lake’s par-5 sixth, Morikawa, who had made two early birdies, stuffed his second shot from 184 yards to four feet for a tap-in eagle.

It was the lowest round of his Morikawa’s career and the best opening round at the Tour Championship. It was also the second-lowest score at East Lake after Zach Johnson’s 60 in round three of the 2007 edition.

One eagle, seven birdies. And still, very little applause.

Marvelous Morikawa. pic.twitter.com/wJoquvdbey

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 24, 2023

“The fans for some reason didn’t really want to clap for our group today,” Morikawa said. “They didn’t think 10 feet or five feet was that good. We really didn’t know how close it was.”

Morikawa, however, wasn’t fazed.

There’s one person he cares about impressing this week, and he’s not even on the property. The 26-year-old just hopes US Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson was watching. The 2021 team member is desperate for a second appearance but sits 10th on the US standings. He hasn’t won since the 2021 Open Championship.

“I want to win this tournament, I really do,” he said. “It’s been too long. Today definitely helped that.”

It also helped his chances of securing one of Johnson’s six captain’s picks when they are announced on Tuesday.

“I had two years to get myself in that top six and didn’t do it,” Morikawa said. “I was still grinding out there. [I] still ended up roughly in that zone of hopefully a captain’s pick. But, look, I think, hopefully, my record speaks for itself,” he said, referencing 3.5 points from four matches at Whistling Straits in 2021.

“Hopefully the golf speaks for itself today.”

The post Collin Morikawa hopes sizzling 61 shows he’s Ryder Cup ready, even if the gallery didn’t seem impressed appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The usually bustling tourist town of Lahaina, less than 20 minutes south of Kapalua, has been the hardest hit. More than 2,200 structures on the island have been destroyed or damaged by the fires — about 86 per cent of them residential, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said.

That’s why Collin Morikawa concedes it will be “scary” returning to Lahaina, where the Californian’s fraternal grandparents were born. They owned the Morikawa Restaurant, believed to have been in existence in the 1950s and 1960s. The two-time major winner was asked Tuesday at the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields if he was “fearful” of seeing the devastation at Lahaina come the first week of January.

“I am,” Morikawa said, having earned his spot at the Sentry courtesy of being among the top 50 on the FedEx Cup standings who made it to the BMW. Those top 50 will be eligible for Sentry, which changed its eligibility from its previous winner’s-only status. “Going back to a place like that where I know I have so many connections … it’s going to be very eerie,” Morikawa added.

“Every year we would always walk by the store that ended up being where the Morikawa restaurant used to be. I am very scared. But I think with being scared, also you need to step up. You need to be courageous, you need to be brave. We have that ability to reach out to millions of people, [with] our network of the PGA Tour and being professional athletes, to make it better [raise money and aid]. Find charities, find ways to help out these people because, they’re doing all they can and it’s always nice to have a helping hand. Golf will be very weird that week, I guarantee that. It’s only a handful months away. Even with that time, stuff can’t be rebuilt that quickly.”

World No.3 and reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm also has an affinity for Kapalua from playing the tournament. He won the Tournament of Champions this year, a year after shooting 33 under par for four rounds and finishing second to Cameron Smith by one shot.

Rahm said professional golf should be least of anyone’s concerns when it comes to Maui. The Spaniard echoed Morikawa in wanting to use the PGA Tour’s platform to raise money for the island.

“Obviously the priority right now wouldn’t be [the tournament at] Kapalua,” Rahm said. “It’s really sad what has happened over there, especially for a culture that cares about their native land as much as the Hawaiians do. I’m deeply sorry for everybody that lost somebody over there. I know Collin shared a bit of his [grandfather’s] story … I’m hoping they can rebuild Lahaina as quickly as possible. If we do go and play, I’m hoping through the tournament we can help the community as much as we can.”

Along with Morikawa, who is donating money from every birdie in the FedEx Cup to the recovery efforts, Michelle Wie West said she is donating $100,000 to support “the urgent needs of these families” who are dealing with the tragedy.

The post Collin Morikawa on why it’s important that golf steps up to help in Maui wildfires appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The restaurant in Lahaina, Hawaii, has long been out of business, but now the building that housed the Morikawa Restaurant is gone, too.

Wednesday’s deadly wildfires that destroyed Front Street at the popular tourist destination on Maui and killed at least 36 people hit Collin Morikawa harder than many people looking on from afar. Morikawa’s fraternal grandparents were born in historic Lahaina Town, and, yes, the Morikawa Restaurant, believed to have been in existence in the 1950s and 1960s was owned by his family. He still has relatives who live there, while many others have moved to Oahu.

“It’s devastating what we’ve been able to … what we’ve been seeing. The before-and-after photos are just heartbreaking, knowing that my entire dad’s side of the family grew up there,” Morikawa said on Thursday after completing his opening round in the St Jude FedEx Championship. “My grandparents were born in Lahaina. We had the restaurant out there. That’s what the photo was. We went there as kids. It’s a special place. It’s amazing how many things you take for granted really in life, and when you see that, it’s just heartbreaking.”

?#WATCH: As Satellite Imagery Reveals Devastation from Maui Fire as multiple Buildings, and Lives Lost
⁰?#Maui | #Hawaii
⁰The Maui Fire destroyed the town of Lahaina, causing significant devastation. Satellite imagery shows the before and after pictures, highlighting the… pic.twitter.com/KxdKdKUBfZ

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) August 11, 2023

A native of Los Angeles, Morikawa remembers visiting Lahaina, and, of course, he’s asked about his ties to west Maui every January when he competes in the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort, where earlier this year he finished runner-up to Jon Rahm.

He said he woke up to the news and saw the devastation and knew that the building where the restaurant was located — he thinks it was most recently a jewellery store — was razed. Fire officials said more than 270 structures were damaged or destroyed, including a 200-year-old church.

Morikawa believed that his extended family members were all right, but “to see how many people have passed away from that, yeah, it’s … I’m at a loss for words”.

But not at a loss for finding a way to help.

Over the course of the three-event FedEx Cup Playoffs, Morikawa is donating $1,000 to charity for every birdie he converts. He logged six on Thursday in a five-under 65 that left him tied for third, two strokes behind Jordan Spieth. The money, he said, will go to Maui United Way and World Central Kitchen, “to help out not just people in Maui but obviously hopefully people in Hawaii because it’s everywhere”.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa)

Winless since the 2021 British Open, Morikawa, 26, likes to think of the gesture as giving him extra motivation.

“Yeah, look, I want to make a lot of birdies for them,” he said. “One of our friends texted me, and they’re like: ‘OK, $100,000.’ I’m like, shoot, 100 birdies in three tournaments? I don’t know if that’s ever been done. But it would be a great feat to say the least.”

He hopes his peers will follow suit, and he plans to ask his sponsors to help, too, seeing how the PGA Tour has a tournament annually at Kapalua’s Plantation Course.

“It’s one of the best places in the world we travel to year in and year out to go to Kapalua, play golf there,” he said. “I’m going to be pushing hard to make those birdies, and hopefully everyone else can reach out and help out as much as they can.”

The post Deadly Lahaina wildfires hit close to home for Collin Morikawa. That’s why he’s found a way to help appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

All this and much, much more in the August 2023 edition of Golf Digest Middle East available in both English and Arabic.

The issue is again free to our loyal audience. You can scroll through the ISSUU link provided here or download to your favourite device for later. Alternatively, pick up a copy at your favourite club. Whatever option you take, we hope you enjoy the read.

See below for the seventh issue of the Arabic edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

If you want to look back at all our previous Arabic editions of Golf Digest Middle East, click here.

The post Get the August 2023 edition of Golf Digest Middle East FREE here in both English and Arabic today! appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

At the time of writing, it’s a weekday afternoon in August, marooned somewhere between the 3M Open and the Wyndham Championship. Things move a bit slower this time of year. The PGA Tour’s regular season is winding down and half the working world is out on holiday. They don’t call them the dog days for nothing. But leave it to Collin Morikawa to provide some much-needed fireworks, draining this ace while on a golf outing with sponsor KPMG on Tuesday.

It’s no @StephenCurry30 celebration but it still counts as a 1! Great day with @KPMGGolf #TeamKPMG pic.twitter.com/o8uWjHf29H

— Collin Morikawa (@collin_morikawa) August 1, 2023

Sure, it was no Steph Curry celebration, as Morikawa quipped in reference to Curry’s ace at the American Century Championship last month, but it will have to do. Even Max Homa took note of Morikawa’s uno, using the opportunity to roast his tour buddy on Twitter/X/whatever it’s called this minute.

Congrats on ur first ace Collin!!

— max homa (@maxhoma23) August 1, 2023

That Max, such a rascal. We’re going to go out on a limb and guess this wasn’t Morikawa’s first ace, but no one has ever let a pesky little thing like facts get in the way of a good burn. Not that Collin will mind one way or another. He just hit a hole-in-one after all.

The post Collin Morikawa hits hole-in-one during KPMG golf outing, immediately gets roasted by Max Homa on Twitter appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

As University of California-Berkeley alums and Southern California natives, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa would naturally figure to pair up for a US Open practice round at Los Angeles Country Club this week.

They even had success on the North Course in common, with Homa captured the 2013 Pac-12 championship here, and Morikawa contributing to the Americans’ victory in the 2017 Walker Cup.

That was their plan, but then it got quashed when Morikawa realised he had a media commitment at the same time they were scheduled to play.

UItimately, it gave Homa a reason to apply the needle to Morikawa, because when the groupings were announced on Monday for the first two rounds, the two Cal Bears were paired with Texan and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

“I told [Morikawa] he can’t really hide from me I’ll find you at some point,” Morikawa said. “So I am glad I get to go walk around with him for 36 holes. It’s always cool playing with Scottie. Obviously just a tremendous golfer, really nice dude. It’s a very fun pairing.”

For those who follow the majors closely, all of them fully control the groupings, and there are always a number in each event that can be given a label, whether they’re from the same region or country, or maybe they’re the reputed hot heads.

“I’m going to keep this joke that I used last year, but I know the US Open does themes,” Homa said with a grin. “So it’s nice they put the three good-looking guys together yet again.”

Truthfully, that line may have worked better a year ago, when Homa was paired at The Country Club with Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth.

Just like last year, Homa is the only player in the group who hasn’t won a major. Morikawa has already captured PGA Championship and Open Championship titles, and Scheffler won the 2022 Masters. Homa is 0-for-15 in the big four, without sniffing contention.

“US Opens are always exciting and big,” Homa said, “but getting to play with those two guys who have had such great success in majors and so young and just make golf look so easy, it’s fun to get to go walk around with them.”

The post US Open 2023: Max Homa has a warning for Collin Morikawa: ‘He can’t hide from me’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.