How Collin Morikawa went back to basics, stopped trying to be perfect and got the job done at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH — Collin Morikawa never forgot how to win. But he had forgotten how to think about winning, how to believe in his ability to win, and that had been enough over the last four-plus years to stymie his career after an early burst of success.

Is it really that simple? Well, yeah, maybe it is. Successful people know how to turn thoughts into actions. And that’s what Morikawa did over the final 36 holes to capture the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his first victory in 46 starts over 28 months.

With a two-putt birdie from just off the green at the par-5 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Morikawa edged Min Woo Lee and Sepp Straka by one stroke for his seventh career PGA Tour title. A two-time major winner, Morikawa shot 15 under on the weekend, including a closing five-under 67 on Sunday, to tie the tournament record in relation to par at 22-under 266. He collected $3.6 million from a purse of $20 million in the year’s first signature event.

When the final putt dropped, a mere tap in, Morikawa pumped his fist and then exhaled a visible sigh of relief before breaking down in tears while enjoying a long embrace with his wife Kat, who also was crying. They had good reason. Two of them, actually.

“Quick golf aside, we're actually expecting later this year, in a few months, and we just started telling people this week, and we said, what a better way and the best way to just announce it to the world if I was able to come out and win,” said Morikawa, a Los Angeles native. “There's so much to life. There's so much to enjoy. I'm hard on myself like I talked about yesterday, but I'm just so thankful for the people around me. I'm speechless right now.”

Usually more stoic and intense, Morikawa showed he’s got a softer side. But it was the return of the more driven golfer that enabled him to surge into position with a third-round 62.

That performance ensued from an enlightening chat with his mental coach Rick Sessinghaus, who reminded Morikawa that his goal when he turned pro in 2019 was to win. Fueled by such a singular mindset, Morikawa registered five wins in short order, including the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open in his first seven major appearances. But since his victory at Royal St. George’s, he’d only posted one win, at the 2023 Zozo Championship in Japan.

Morikawa extrapolated on Sessinghaus’ message, not only making a determined effort to win, but trusting in himself that he could win by adding a little poetry to his ball-striking precision.

“I think it was more just believing and knowing why I'm here,” he explained. “I think I've been trying to make golf so perfect trying to hit these shots and trying to make these putts in a certain way that maybe others are doing it that you forget how to play the game of golf.

“I think looking back when I was 10, 12, 15 growing up on Chevy Chase [Country Club], playing 10 holes, dropping three balls, like I played golf. And I've gone so far away from that, that creativity that I think the last two days I went to go play golf. I caught myself today even after the bogey on 5, I was like, man, I love being in this position. … I started the day this morning telling myself, yeah, let's go out and win this thing.”

Improving from 19th to fifth in the world, Morikawa emerged with the victory over a handful of challengers, including, somewhat unexpectedly, Scottie Scheffler. The World No. 1 began the final round eight strokes behind leader Akshay Bhatia but rallied for a nine-under 63 that featured three eagles. The last of those, from three feet at 18, gave him a share of the lead at 20 under par with Morikawa and Sam Burns. Jacob Bridgeman held the lead outright or shared it for stretches on the blustery day, while Lee started lurking on the inward nine and then birdied the final two holes to get into the clubhouse at 21 under.

Lee birdied four of his last six holes to shoot 65, while Straka, who began the day tied with Morikawa and Jake Knapp two behind Bhatia, snuck into a share of second place by closing with three birdies and an eagle at the last for 68. Scheffler tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood, who shot 66.

Morikawa, who led the field in strokes gained/tee to green and strokes gained/approach, finally created some separation with consecutive birdies at 15 and 16 after flubbing a chip from the back of the green at the par-5 14th, costing him a shot. Then he gave a shot back with a bogey at the par-3 17th when he badly pulled his tee shot. Lee, meanwhile, created a tie with a two-putt birdie at 18.

Then came the wait. Due to the travails of Bridgeman, whose wayward approach into 18 found the beach and led to a number of decisions and delays, Morikawa, after an ideal drive, was forced to cool his heels in the fairway. He paced back and forth between his ball and the edge of the fairway for 19 minutes.

“I tried to think about anything else other than golf,” he said. “Thankfully, you had the nicest backdrop you could ask for so that was very, very easy. For me, it was how do I stay loose, how do I stay warm and not just think about the shot? I knew what shot I had to execute.”

When it was time to hit his second shot, he chose 4-iron from 229 yards and picked out a line well left of what he had been indicating to his caddie, Mark Urbanek, basically out of the ocean. And then he executed. The shot dutifully faded and rode the wind to a spot 26 feet from the hole, from where he got his winning birdie with two strokes from his putter.

Using a putter that he “stole” from Kurt Kitayama and a new ball with greater spin, a change he made before the first round, Morikawa broke through after having a few doubts about his ability to win and the things he’s been working on to make it happen. He even admitted to watching YouTube videos of himself on Thursday, mostly studying his putting stroke. It’s been hard to stay patient. If not sane.

“I've been known amongst my team to go down these deep, deep rabbit holes. Like very deep. Very, very deep,” Morikawa admitted with a grin. “But I think that just makes me who I am. It's just part of what I do.”

At the end of another winless season and a Ryder Cup loss, Morikawa worked on his game and also on putting on some weight, trying, he said, “to get my body right.” Then he missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii and was a non-factor in Phoenix and he wondered if he had been wasting his time.

Turns out, he just had to get his mind in shape more than his body or his slow-gathering swing.

Despite having not won for so long, Morikawa set a goal of capturing multiple times in 2026. “It's funny to say that considering a guy who hasn't won in a few years, but why not? It's not even shooting for the moon. Like I've done it before,” he said. “I always just keep pushing. I think they're all realistic no matter how crazy they sound. I think after this win it's going to give me a lot of confidence heading into the majors, heading into the Players.

“I think this just eases the rest of the season," he added. "The first couple years when I won early in the season, man, you free up. And there's going to be that sense of freedom. It's hard to get because sometimes you need to win. Hopefully a lot more freedom and a lot more enjoyment for the golf this year.”

Maybe a lot of winning. Now that he remembers how. And believes.