Collin Morikawa was unable to replicate his impressive start to the 2025 season, with the two-time major champion missing the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii this week.
It is easy to forget that Collin Morikawa did everything but win in the opening weeks of last year. He started brilliantly as he finished second at The Sentry.
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Unfortunately, he has kicked off 2026 with a missed cut. Even par was not good enough for Morikawa to make the weekend at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
It will be a worry for the 28-year-old given that his form tailed off as 2025 went on.
Collin Morikawa reacts to ‘frustrating’ display at the Sony Open in Hawaii
Morikawa’s only top 10 after The Players Championship came at the Rocket Classic. So he would have been hoping to find his way back to the world-class level he reached earlier in his career over the off-season.
However, rounds of 72 and 68 saw Morikawa miss the cut by one stroke. And he has now taken to Instagram to react to his performance.
He wrote: “Frustrating way to start the season. Need to figure out how to get back to playing boring golf. Some improvements in the offseason were seen, some were not…regroup, back at it in a couple weeks.“
The concerning statistics from Collin Morikawa’s week at Waialae
What may be particularly worrying for Morikawa is just how little seems to have changed.
Morikawa was one of the very best players from tee to green in 2025, finishing fourth for strokes gained in that particular category last year.
However, his putting really let him down. He was 156th for strokes gained on the greens, while he was 113th around the putting surfaces.
And, in truth, his performance at Waialae would not look out of place among his 2025 season.
| Strokes gained category | Collin Morikawa at the Sony Open in Hawaii |
| Off the tee | 1.07 |
| Approach | 0.33 |
| Around the green | -0.43 |
| Tee to green | 0.96 |
| Putting | -1.52 |
| Total | -0.57 |
Of course, there is still time for Morikawa to get back to his best before the year kicks into another gear.
But it is hard to imagine that there is anything more demoralising for an elite golfer than when a new season serves up many of the same problems.
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