Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, was not able to repeat his strong start last year, missing the cut this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
He began 2025 with a second-place finish at The Sentry, before eventually capturing victory at the Travelers Championship.
This time around, though, he has not had quite the same impact. An even-par finish was not enough to get him through to Saturday.
The slow start will be a concern for Morikawa, especially since his form dipped towards the end of last season. He will need to find his rhythm quickly if he wants to turn things around this year.
Collin Morikawa responds to ‘frustrating’ showing at Sony Open in Hawaii
After The Players Championship, Morikawa’s only top-10 result was at the Rocket Classic. Consequently, he was likely looking to use the off-season to return to the world-class form he demonstrated earlier in his career.
But after rounds of 72 and 68, Morikawa missed the cut by just one stroke. He later took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the result.
“Frustrating way to start the season. Need to figure out how to get back to playing boring golf. Some improvements in the off-season were seen, some were not…regroup, back at it in a couple weeks,” the Los Angeles native posted.
Collin Morikawa’s struggles at Waialae mirror last season’s form
The lack of apparent change is likely what is most concerning for Morikawa.
His ball-striking has never been an issue. He finished fourth in strokes gained tee-to-green last season, once again showing that part of his game is elite.
The problems came on the greens. Morikawa ranked 156th in strokes gained putting and 113th around the greens, numbers that put a ceiling on what he could accomplish.
Of course, there is still time for the two-time major champion to work things out before the schedule ramps up.
But nothing can be more discouraging for a top player than seeing the same issues carry over into a new campaign.
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