Collin Morikawa seems to be back to his old self after his spectacular win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday.
Morikawa had been in the golfing doldrums for far too long before he returned to the PGA Tour winner’s circle at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Morikawa won at Pebble Beach mostly due to some truly sensational iron play throughout the week.
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He was back to his old self at Pebble Beach…
He put on a real show with his approach play and he proved that he is still very much one of the best golfers in the world.
The win at Pebble Beach was so important for Morikawa.
He had been desperately low on confidence having not won on the PGA Tour since his victory at the Zozo Championship in October 2023.
Now he will be flying high and looking to record more wins in 2026 and beyond.
Collin Morikawa credits golf psychologist for Pebble Beach win
Morikawa was in fine spirits after winning at Pebble Beach on Sunday.
However, it was 24 hours before he holed the winning putt when he revealed one of the key factors behind his improved form.
After firing a third-round 62 at Pebble Beach, Morikawa was asked by reporters how he felt about his game.
“You know, honestly, the last two days it felt really good,“ he said.
“I went into this year feeling really good about myself. You go out and play two rounds at Sony and I missed the cut and you realize, man, do I need to redo everything that you thought you were doing for the last two months?
“That’s not really the case. The problem is the results matter sometimes and for me in this world after the past, you know, a year, three years, whatever you want to call it, I just haven’t had the results I’ve wanted. But I know I’m making the right strides, I know I’m inching towards the right direction.
“It’s just I just haven’t seen this momentum to be able to go out and play a low round. If you went back and was able to tap into my phone calls with Rick the past week and a half, a lot of it has had to do with being able to go low and just being able to continue momentum.
It’s very hard to replicate, it’s very hard to do, but at the same time you’ve got to be able to play golf out here.“
That chat with his mental coach clearly helped Morikawa get over the line on the PGA Tour for the first time in 28 months.
Collin Morikawa’s new mindset helped him win at Pebble Beach
The difference between journeymen pros and consistent PGA Tour winners is how they approach golf tournaments.
Morikawa explained to reporters how he heads into every event he plays with the intent to win.
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“I’ve had a lot of conversations with Rick,“ Morikawa admitted.
“More frustration, right, of just I go out, and even on Thursday I think I had like three or four birdies on a course where I felt like I hit it really, really good.
“It’s just going out, and he reminded me yesterday when I first came out and turned pro, like I didn’t care about honestly making cuts or top-20s, I came out to win.
“When he told me that yesterday, there was that mindset switch going into today. I wanted to come out and win, win the weekend, win the tournament. Now we’ve given ourselves a chance. It’s a small mindset adjustment and without him telling me that, who knows what I would have shot today.
“But I’m out here to win. When you finish 30th, 15th, 3rd, at the end of the day like I want to win. I’ve got to set that mindset at the beginning of the day, at the beginning of the week and now I think we’ve given ourselves at least a chance come tomorrow.“
It will be really interesting to watch Morikawa throughout the rest of the 2026 PGA Tour season now.
Was his win at Pebble Beach a one-off, or is he well and truly back to his best? The answer to those questions remains to be seen.
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