Collin Morikawa has admitted that his back injury is still an issue he is contending with despite his stunning performance at the Travelers Championship.
Morikawa stole the show on Sunday at TPC River Highlands. He shot a 61 during the final round to take the clubhouse lead at 20 under par at the final signature event of the year.
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It is set to be Morikawa’s sixth top 10 of the season on the PGA Tour. However, it could have so easily been an even better year for the 29-year-old.
Collin Morikawa admits he is still battling his way back to full fitness
Morikawa looked to have rediscovered his best form when he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier this year. He followed that with top 10 finishes at the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
However, the defining moment of his season came on the 11th hole on Thursday at The Players Championship, when Morikawa – who was playing his second hole of the tournament – tweaked his back during a practice swing.
It would be his last swing of the tournament.
Morikawa has subsequently had impressive results at The Masters, the RBC Heritage, and the US Open. But speaking after his final round in Connecticut, he admitted that he is still not firing on all cylinders.
“Yeah, really I haven’t been able to practice as much as I would have liked. Still kind of dealing with the back stuff a little bit. It’s a lot better than what it was at The Masters, even through the PGA, but still not comfortable. I’m still kind of dancing around things,” he said.
“Each shot I’m out there I’m focused so much on making contact versus hitting shots, and that’s a hard way to play. But thankfully the game feels good enough where I’m able to put some scores together like this, and I think I’ll be able to use this heading into The Open Championship.
“When you go over there, you have to hit quality golf shots, you can’t miss it out there. I’ve seen both ends of it. So, you know, being this is my last round until then, a lot to draw upon going overseas and hopefully we can use that momentum essentially for a few weeks from now.”
Collin Morikawa reflects on putting himself in contention on Sunday at the Travelers Championship
Morikawa would not have been someone anyone would have tipped to be in serious contention heading into the final round at TPC River Highlands.
However, his birdie on the 72nd hole meant that Morikawa faced a tense wait to see whether his score was going to be good enough, much like Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship in May.
And it turns out that Morikawa was not entirely sure whether he had ever had the experience of hanging around for several hours.
“I don’t think I’ve ever done this, I honestly don’t. I feel like the weeks I played well I’ve kind of been near the lead or at least the last few groups,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s a weird position to be in, but it’s a great position, there’s a lot worse problems you can have. So I’m happy, really, really happy with the way I finished and hopefully we give ourselves one last chance to somehow be on top.”
The rain delay may have been helpful in a sense, as Morikawa would have been aware that it was unlikely that the playoff was going to be played on Sunday whatever happened.
He can now reflect on yet another positive week as he moves closer to being back to full fitness.
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