AVONDALE, La. — Collin Morikawa looked dejected.
After all, he had just missed his third cut in 13 events this season, not too shabby for most PGA Tour pros, but then again Morikawa is anything but average – remember how he opened his career by making 22 straight cuts? Let’s not forget that he was paired with Max Homa, ranked seventh in the world, in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Tour’s lone two-man team event.
Heading home on Friday after combining to shoot 8-under 136 in four-ball and foursomes formats, two strokes below the cutline? Inconceivable!
Morikawa had reason to pout if not punch a hole through a locker room wall. He could’ve made a quick getaway. But none of these are his style. He put on his watch, shared a few cordials with caddie J.J. Jakovac and grabbed his Sharpie to go sign for the merry band of autograph seekers lining the blue fence that separated fans from players.
One of the youngsters had a yellow flag with the Zurich Classic logo purchased at the nearby Fan Shop. He had collected so many autographs already that he had resorted to having players scribble their names on the back of it. When the kid asked Morikawa to sign on the wrong side of the flag, Morikawa tried to talk him out of it and in not-so-subtle ways tried to explain, ‘Do you know who I am? I’m a two-time major champion,’ but eventually succumbed to the wishes of the kid. He continued down the line, signing a homemade HomaKawa shirt that didn’t age well.
This shirt did not age well but at least he got it signed pic.twitter.com/CLEDNLRKhA
— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) April 22, 2023
But Morikawa saved his finest moment for the young fan in a bucket hat, who turned on the voice recorder setting of his iPhone like a seasoned reporter and began peppering Morikawa with questions.
Q: What’s the hardest part of being on Tour?
CM: I think just managing your expectations and kind of enjoying the travel as much as you can. We travel 20-30 weeks a year, some guys even 35. It’s a very different lifestyle, even though I played a lot of golf growing up.
The aspiring journalist had a great follow up question and Morikawa continued to take it seriously.
Q: How does all that travel and being away from family for a long period of time affect you?
CM: It’s tough. You have to learn to enjoy your time away from the golf course. We spend so much time out here. Today, we had a rain delay and I got out here at 9 a.m. and it’s 7 o’clock.
Morikawa…
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