Russell Henley may have been the man to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational this past week, but it was another statement of a performance from Collin Morikawa at Bay Hill.
Collin Morikawa continues to do absolutely everything without winning on the PGA Tour. The world number four is still awaiting a first victory since 2023. He is arguably playing better than anyone who has failed to win since the start of 2024.
Morikawa looked to be on course to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He led heading into the final round and was one under par for the day at the turn on Sunday at Bay Hill. However, Morikawa made some mistakes, allowing Russell Henley to secure the biggest win of his career to date.
Obviously, the result will hurt the 28-year-old, who last won on the PGA Tour at the ZOZO Championship back in October 2023. But the signs are extremely positive.
What Collin Morikawa did at the Arnold Palmer Invitational which was absurd
Morikawa gained more than 11 shots on the field across the week, according to the PGA Tour website.
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman claimed that he was blown away by how impressive the two-time major champion was striking the ball at times as he followed him around during the third round.
“I was out there with him on Saturday, and it’s unbelievable to watch someone with that much control with their irons, it was absurd,” he said.
“There was one shot he hit, I don’t know if you were watching on Saturday, on the ninth hole, so Corey Conners had 206 to a right pin and he doesn’t go at right pins, especially with middle irons, he doesn’t hit it high enough so he plays a six iron to the middle of the green. And Collin Morikawa’s nine yards closer at 197, there’s like five miles an hour of wind back into his face, probably need to land something at 185, so most modern guys, young kids, they’d hit a seven iron. Maybe some guys who’ve been on tour a while, hold a little six. Collin hits a five iron, and hits the biggest, high, floaty slice you’ve ever seen and lands it 185. His ability to add or take away – really take away – distances with his long irons is unlike any player; it’s like an old school way of playing golf.
“He can do that with a six to an eight, his ability to take distance off, his ability just to cut the golf ball, it’s just how much he slices it basically, and I think when he switched over to a different coach and found the proper way to play fades and not do it the way he does it, he was nuking shots, he was hitting shots too well and wasn’t able to control hitting it pin high. And that was like his superpower right, when you think of Collin Morikawa’s iron game, he comes up on the TV and he’s got a middle iron in his hands, if he doesn’t hit it pin high, you’re like something went terribly wrong.”
Morikawa continuing to get back to his best with superb performance at Bay Hill
Morikawa gained almost five shots on the field with his approach play across the four rounds, according to the PGA Tour website. And the most impressive display of the lot did indeed come on Saturday.
Morikawa gained more than 3.6 shots in that area of the game in round three. It certainly would have evoked memories of the American when he burst onto the scene – with his iron play being a key reason he was able to win two majors in his first eight starts in the sport’s four biggest events.
Perhaps some problems with arise if Morikawa continues to put himself in contention to win without getting over the line. He also finished second to Hideki Matsuyama at The Sentry.
However, Morikawa has won two of the biggest prizes in the game. So while Sunday’s finale will hurt for a little while, he knows exactly what it takes to get the job done and will probably be more determined than ever to seize the next chance which comes his way.
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