Collin Morikawa has issued his verdict on TPC Sawgrass and suggested what he finds weird about the course ahead of The Players Championship this week.
Morikawa has to be considered one of the favourites to win The Players Championship in the coming days. The two-time major champion has been in superb form in recent weeks, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
TPC Sawgrass certainly asks a unique set of questions, with all aspects of the game tested across the Stadium Course in Florida.
Collin Morikawa comments on the challenges of TPC Sawgrass ahead of The Players
The golf season now kicks into another gear, with the last two winners of The Players – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy – going on to win The Masters the following month.
So it seems fair to say that a lot of players will soon get a good idea of just how ready they are for the start of major championship season.
And ahead of the first round, Collin Morikawa explained what he thinks it will take to thrive around TPC Sawgrass.
“Yeah, it’s a weird golf course because there’s so much that you have to do right. And there’s not one shot that you could just practice on the range and say, that’s going to get me through the week,” he said.
“There’s not one chip shot that you can go to. I played a few holes today and I’m messing around on the greens or around the greens and you drop one ball, you might fluff it, and you honestly can’t replicate that again.
“So there’s a lot of just being able to adapt throughout the week and seeing how the course kind of changes and see how the rough plays out because out here it’s just being able to plot yourself around this golf course.
“But I love it. I think it’s a ball-striking golf course. I think you’ve got to really play out of the fairways, especially with the rough so far, and it’s one of our favourite weeks for sure.”
How Morikawa has performed at The Players Championship across his career
Morikawa does not have the best record at the PGA Tour’s flagship event across his career.
Finding fairways and avoiding danger is particularly important at Sawgrass. So it is surprising that the 29-year-old has not come that close to winning the event so far.
Morikawa’s best result came 12 months ago when he finished in a tie for 10th. A 77 in the third round put paid to his hopes of winning after he had been tied with eventual winner McIlroy at the halfway stage.
He missed the cut in 2022. But it would be a big shock to see him go home early this time around with Morikawa looking better than he has done in a long time.
There will be plenty of people backing Morikawa to secure his second win of the season this week. But Sawgrass will certainly make him work hard for a positive outcome.