NBC Sports broadcaster Dan Hicks has shared what he noticed about Collin Morikawa while watching the American in practice at Pinehurst No. 2 ahead of the US Open.
Collin Morikawa may be without a win on the PGA Tour this season, but few players go into the US Open in better form than the 27-year-old.
Morikawa finished tied for fourth at the PGA Championship having joined Xander Schauffele in the final group on Sunday, while he also finished in the top five the following week.
And the two-time major champion was Scottie Scheffler’s closest challenger at The Memorial last week, so he definitely appears to be hitting form at the right time.
What was noticed about Collin Morikawa in US Open practice
Of course, Pinehurst No. 2 is one of the most thorough tests of golf on the planet, and one spectacular round is unlikely to be anywhere near enough to keep a player in contention.
With that, speaking on The Smylie Show, Hicks believes that Morikawa has the tools to navigate his way around the course – and looks to be absolutely determined to come out on top this week.
“A guy that is trending unbelievably is Collin Morikawa. I saw him out there today, Rog and I were round the course and we were gauging everything and, he’s always a pretty serious guy, this guy looked like he was like, ‘this is my championship’,” he said.
“You never want to go too crazy because it’s early in the week, I just think his finishes the last several tournaments, he’s ready to roll, and I think, as a second shot iron player, one of the premier that we’ve seen, I think he’s the man.”
All eyes on how Scottie Scheffler fares around Pinehurst
Every player out there this week is, of course, going to be wondering what exactly Scottie Scheffler does, as many will be expecting the world number one to make it six wins this season in the coming days.
But if Scheffler does have an off-week – if that is still possible – then Morikawa looks to be better placed than most to take charge of the tournament.
Perhaps Morikawa senses that he will not have a better opportunity to win a US Open.
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