Collin Morikawa gives his thoughts on the golf course being used this week as the PGA Tour goes to Japan

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Collin Morikawa returns to PGA Tour action for the first time since the Ryder Cup as he takes on the Baycurrent Classic in Japan.

World number nine Morikawa is the second-highest-ranked player in the field for the Baycurrent Classic, behind world number four Xander Schauffele.

But the duo enter the PGA Tour event on the back of contrasting Ryder Cup displays, where Schauffele led the way for the USA with three points.

He was joined on that total by Cameron Young, while Morikawa was joined at the very bottom of the pile by Harris English and Russell Henley, each with half a point.

Morikawa will now be eager to bounce back at the Baycurrent Classic, which takes place at Yokohama Country Club in Japan.

Collin Morikawa gives his thoughts on the course being used by the PGA Tour this week

Ahead of the event, the American was asked about the course at Yokohama that plays host to the latest FedExCup Fall tournament.

Morikawa noted of the course just before its PGA Tour debut: “Yeah, it’s honestly an incredible golf course.

“The greens are some of the best greens I think we’ve played on on Tour and just the way the design of the golf course with a lot of bowl greens, sloped edges, it makes the green complexes a lot smaller than what we see. So it’ll be a great test.

“Obviously we have some weather tomorrow, a lot of wind and some rain, so it will be a great test I think throughout the week. There’s a lot of mix of long holes and short holes throughout this golf course.”

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And when asked if he’ll change his game amid the impending inclement weather, he replied: “No. I think the last couple days of prep, the weather’s been so nice that you kind of get used to seeing a golf course for the first time, pick your lines.

“I think you just have to adjust a lot tomorrow and be ready really to hit any club off the tee because it’s going to play very, very different than what we’ve seen the first couple days.”

Offering further insight, Morikawa said: “There’s a lot of undulation on this golf course. I think it plays a little bit longer just with some of the par 4s, a lot of par 4s especially on the back nine.

“A little bit more of a different view, some blind tee shots, some doglegs. I think Narashino was a little more straightforward and a lot flatter, for sure.”

Collin Morikawa and Nico Echavarria eye another PGA Tour title in Japan

A total of 13 of the top 50 players in the world rankings are teeing it up in Japan this week, including home favourite Hideki Matsuyama.

Morikawa’s fellow Americans Wyndham Clark, Chris Gotterup and Billy Horschel are also taking on the event, which has already been impacted by a typhoon.

Also in the field is Colombian Nico Echavarria, who has said of the course: “It’s good. Yesterday I decided not to play, I just walked 18 holes with the wedge and the putter, wanted to get visually comfortable for today to play the 18 holes.

“It’s going to be interesting tomorrow with expected high winds, the course is going to play tough. With no wind I think this course can be somewhat gettable.

“There’s a variety of very hard holes and easy holes, some reachable par 5s in the front. But overall the course is in great shape.

“The greens are rolling very nicely, firm fairways. It just requires a lot of precision with the second shots, the greens are quite small.

“Off the tee it gives you some room. Yeah, I like the course, I like the challenge and it’s going to be a great week.”

It is a particularly significant tournament for Morikawa, who has not won on the PGA Tour since this event in 2023.

The 2023 Zozo Championship represents his last victory, although it was indeed Echavarria who clinched the title last time out, with the event now renamed to the Baycurrent Classic due to sponsorship.