AUGUSTA, Ga. — Collin Morikawa has won two major championships and finished in the top five in five others, so he has played plenty of golf with high stakes on the line.
That’s why Morikawa was so surprised by his anxiety level before Thursday’s opening round of the 90th Masters.
“I mean, it all started when I woke up,” Morikawa said. “I’ve never felt this nervous, like, in my life. I’ve played in majors. I’ve played in other events.”
But other than two nine-hole practice rounds earlier this week at Augusta National Golf Club, Morikawa hadn’t played since injuring his back after only one hole of play in the first round of the Players on March 12.
“I think it’s a trust factor, right?” Morikawa said. “I think when it happened out on the course at the Players, there’s a certain doubt factor of, like, is this going to happen [or] is this not?”
The 29-year-old gutted through the first 18 holes Thursday, posting a 2-over 74. He had four bogeys and two birdies and described it as the “toughest round I’ve ever played.”
“I’m just fighting,” Morikawa said. “It’s a battle. I don’t think I’ve been able to get comfortable out there and [trust] the entire body. It’s not painful, but it’s not easy. I think walking has been the hardest part.”
Morikawa said he has been hitting balls for the past week and a half, but not comfortably.
“It’s just more like my head gets in the way, and the head can stop so much,” Morikawa said. “When I teed it up on Tuesday on [the first hole], I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make contact. Warmup felt fine, everything.”
Although Morikawa’s back is no longer in pain, his legs “just don’t feel comfortable right now. … They don’t feel strong like they’re underneath me.”
Morikawa joked that he’s probably the slowest-playing golfer in the field because of his ongoing anxiety.
“I’m just trying to put one foot in front of the other and kind of see how it all plays out,” Morikawa said.
Morikawa, who won the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship, has been searching for another major championship since. He seemed to be in a good position to contend for a green jacket after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Feb. 15. He tied for seventh in the Genesis Invitational and was solo fifth in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The seven-time PGA Tour winner was first in strokes gained: approach (1.066) and third in tee-to-green (1.646) entering the week.
“I’m proud of the way things kind of played out,” Morikawa said. “The expectations are kind of thrown out the window right now.”
