While Keegan Bradley seems to be finding form at the right time as the Ryder Cup emerges on the horizon, Collin Morikawa appears to be heading in the wrong direction.
Collin Morikawa was one of the most impressive players on the PGA Tour in the opening months of the season. The two-time major champion finished second at both The Sentry and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
However, the momentum which he appeared to be building has evaporated more recently. Morikawa has not registered a top 10 on the PGA Tour since The Players Championship.
He finished tied for 42nd at the Travelers Championship this past week. And with that, it seems that Morikawa has decided to make another notable change ahead of the final stages of the season.
Golf fans stunned by decision made by Collin Morikawa ahead of the Rocket Classic
Morikawa parted ways with longtime caddie JJ Jakovac earlier this year, and ended up hiring Joe Greiner. Greiner had been working with Max Homa previously, while he was on the bag for Justin Thomas‘ win at the RBC Heritage.
But according to Adam Schupak writing for Golfweek, Morikawa has already ended that partnership after five events and will have a friend on the bag at the Rocket Classic this week.
Unsurprisingly, plenty of fans are extremely surprised, with one person expressing real concern, writing: ‘Collin is my favorite golfer to preface. He really needs to get out of his own way and put his ego to the side. He is churning through caddies, every time he’s mic’d up it seems like he’s always fighting them. I know it’s hard to find someone you trust and respect.’
Another posted: ‘He’s searching…. has gone [through] two really impressive caddies in a couple months… been teacher changes as well over the last year or so…‘ Someone else wrote: ‘Man it’s amazing what can happen to some players so quickly. Morikawa has not lost his game by any stretch but he has [not] been the same player ever since his comments to the media after losing at The Arnold Palmer Invitational. JJ should have never been let go.‘
Morikawa has certainly come in for criticism, with one person posting: ‘Dude at this point it’s not the caddie‘. Another said: ‘Collin Morikawa splits with caddie Joe Greiner after five events. Might be time to realize it’s not the caddie.‘
Someone else asked: ‘So it’s the caddies fault?‘ And another suggested: ‘Might be mirror time for Collin‘.
There was further disappointment in Morikawa’s actions, with one person writing: ‘Collin being Collin – used to like this kiddo.’
Another simply said: ‘wow‘.
What Collin Morikawa said about split with JJ Jakovac earlier this year
Ultimately, players can only do so much if they feel that they are not getting the most out of their game. And unfortunately, caddies will occasionally pay the price as they seek the solutions.
Morikawa tried to explain the decision to split with Jakovac earlier this year, noting that something was not clicking.
“Firstly, it doesn’t take anything away from what JJ and I have done over the last six years, but sometimes things just aren’t feeling right,” Morikawa explained, as reported by Bunkered.
“I think when people look at it in the macro perspective of ‘OK, Collin’s playing great, he’s contending, he’s trying to close out tournaments’.
“Even at the beginning of the year everything looked very, very good, but sometimes, on the golf course things just don’t feel right.”
Clearly, plenty have been left baffled by Morikawa already parting ways with Greiner. It leaves a real question mark over where the 28-year-old will turn next.
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