[Photo: Michael Reaves]
Collin Morikawa has made a handful of starts since returning from a back injury that sidelined him at the Players Championship. That doesn’t mean the issue has subsided. And, by the sounds of it, Morikawa has gone to extremes to keep it from getting worse.
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The two-time major champion spoke to the media on Tuesday at the PGA Championship, and before Morikawa took questions admitted that his back problems are lingering.
“I wish I was 100 percent healthy. The body doesn’t feel bad, just it’s uncomfortable, and there’s a trust factor I’m kind of having to deal with, which is – I’ve never had to deal with it,” Morikawa said. “I can’t imagine wanting anyone to deal with it because it’s just a very weird feeling of not trusting the body and yet knowing that things are going to be OK. So it’s just taking it day by day, doing what I need to do.”
Prior to the injury at TPC Sawgrass, Morikawa was on-song, winning at Pebble Beach and following up with top-10s at Riviera and Bay Hill, a possible explanation for why he doesn’t want to take much time off. He that he’s been pushing through the pain, which he chalked up to a strong mental game, along with this team and physio for working on his body.
But the most peculiar thing Morikawa has done to keep himself upright? Have caddie Mark Urbanek carry his water bottle for him.
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“I think it’s ridiculous for him to hand me my water bottle,” Morikawa continued, “but if it was going to save me one extra bend that was going to make me uncomfortable, he’s going to do it. So I give him a lot of credit over the past few months of sticking with me through the chaotic things I’m asking for.”
Clearly what they are doing is working; Morikawa posted a T-7 at Augusta National and followed it up with a T-4 the next week in Hilton Head.
As for this week, Morikawa thinks that accepting limitations and staying within himself is what will ultimately keep him in contention.
“I’ve been able to take that into it,” he said. “It will be interesting to see whether I get frustrated or not considering that the body feels a little bit better. I hope to take that mentality I had at Augusta and just continue that into the rest of the year, because that’s a mentality I think the best have.
“That’s how, for me at least, I feel like I’m going to play great golf.”
Morikawa tees off at 1:32pm on Thursday (Philadelphia time; 3:32am Friday, AEST) alongside Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry.
