Collin Morikawa says he really misses LIV Golf star he got along so well with

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Collin Morikawa has suggested that he really misses one LIV Golf star, insisting that they got on so well.

It is often overlooked what a culture shift it must have been for many players when LIV Golf came about, with many stars jumping ship from the PGA Tour. With that, there are now very few opportunities to see the best from the respective tours to go up against each other.

And perhaps fans of the US Ryder Cup team were denied the chance to see an amazing partnership develop further over the next few events, after one star decided to join LIV in 2022.

Heading into Whistling Straits, few would have probably seen a pairing of Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson, with the latter the most experienced player on the team while Morikawa was the leading points scorer – but also one of the six rookies in Steve Stricker’s side.

Collin Morikawa explains how Dustin Johnson partnership came about

But the pair proved to be an inspired combination, winning all three of their matches together, while Johnson went five for five that week.

Speaking on The Scoop, Morikawa was asked about Johnson, and he went on to be asked about how his Ryder Cup partnership with the two-time major champion came about.

“Oh my god, I miss him, yeah, he’s the best,” he said.

“I knew him decently well, I wouldn’t say well because I’m a lot younger than a lot of the guys that were on the team, and I remember we were on the range at the BMW at Caves Valley, so the Ryder Cup is going to be in a month, I never thought about playing with DJ, Steve Stricker calls me 10 minutes before my tee time, he’s like, ‘hey, what do you think about playing with Dustin Johnson’, and I’m like, ‘yeah, I’m not going to say no’, I want to play.

“And we played practice rounds together, I’ve played a bunch of tournaments, it was the best pairing I could ask for, my first Ryder Cup, and I think our personalities got along really well, we wanted to win, but we didn’t say much, it was just like locking eyes with someone across a bar knowing, yeah you’re the one I’m going to talk to, and yeah we’re going to get this done, and that’s how it worked, we didn’t need to say anything, we got the job done.”

Food for thought for Keegan Bradley

Morikawa was not in the best form heading into Rome in 2023, relying on a captain’s pick to even make Zach Johnson’s team. And he proved to be one of a number of players to have a torrid time in Italy, winning just one point from his four matches.

Morikawa was paired with Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Sam Burns throughout the week, before then losing to Viktor Hovland in the singles. So Keegan Bradley may want to give some thought to who he is likely to pair the 27-year-old with at Bethpage Black – though he looks set to be playing a lot better heading into next year.

It seems highly unlikely that Johnson will be involved in New York, with the 41-year-old missing two cuts at the majors this year. He has also not had the best year on LIV, finding himself down in 13th place in the individual standings.

Bradley picking players from LIV cannot be ruled out, but you would think that Johnson will have to rediscover his old form if his partnership with Morikawa is going to be revived next year.