Collin Morikawa finds himself in contention at The PLAYERS Championship after carding a 7-under 65 on Friday. He will enter the weekend at 9-under, currently two shots back of leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia.
Despite the stellar play, Morikawa took it upon himself to react to recent criticism from PGA Tour veterans and media members.
Following last week’s gut-wrenching loss to Russell Henley at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Morikawa opted not to speak to the media. He was vilified by several golfers, including Rocco Mediate, who went so far as to call him “selfish.”
“Biggest bunch of horses**t you could ever say, period,” Mediate said on his Sirius XM radio show.
“I mean, that is the dumbest, most selfish garbage you could ever say. Mr. Palmer would’ve hunted him down.”
The six-time winner on Tour was not about to let things lie. He shot back at the criticism he received following his second round on Friday.
“I just want to add one more thing. I might bite my tongue after saying this, but to the Brandel Chamblees, to the Paul McGinleys, to the Rocco Mediates of the world, I don’t regret anything I said,” Morikawa said unprompted.
“You know, it might have been a little bit harsh that I don’t owe anyone, but I don’t owe anyone. I respect the fans. I’m very thankful for them. I’m grateful. It makes me emotional, but it’s just — it hurts to hear people say this, and especially you guys, because I finished the round and I went to go sign for 10 minutes, 15 minutes for all the people after. Not a single person from the media went to go follow me because, I don’t know.”
A day after the loss, the two-time major champion took to social media to explain the situation. The following day, Morikawa spoke during his pre-tournament press conference at TPC Sawgrass to provide further context.
“Yeah, just heated,” Morikawa said. “Just pissed. Like I don’t owe anyone anything. No offense to you guys, but for me in the moment of that time, I didn’t want to be around anyone. Like, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t need any sorries. I didn’t need any ‘good playings. Like, ‘you’re just pissed’”.
His frustration was understandable. The SoCal native led the Arnold Palmer Invitational practically all day on Sunday. However, Henley holed out for an improbably eagle on 16, turning a one-shot deficit into a one-shot lead. He would go on to win by that single stroke, leaving Morikawa still winless since late 2023.
Barbs aside, Collin Morikawa has another strong chance at snapping his drought on the PGA Tour. He will be among the final groups to go out Saturday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass.
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