NASSAU (Bahamas) – Collin Morikawa, who won the Zozo Championship last month in Japan, was reticent about the fixes he made to his putting stroke, which helped him shoot a final round 63, and coast for a six-stroke victory, ending a two-year run without a win. He also buried the leade.
“Right before Ryder Cup I let go my long-time Coach, Rick Sessinghaus, for — we had been working for just under 18 years. Which wasn’t easy,” Morikawa revealed for the first publicly at a press event on Tuesday, ahead of the Hero World Challenge. The 20-man, unofficial tournament was held at the Albany Club. “He’s not just my coach; he is one of my best friends. He’s someone who I’ve always looked to for guidance, someone who’s been with me through every stage of my life. Not just golf, but also in general.
It wasn’t an easy time, but sometimes that is how things go. 18 years is quite a time. There aren’t many people with whom I can say that I have had a relationship for 18 years and that it’s a real relationship where I talk to them every single week. It wasn’t an easy task.”
The PGA of America celebrated the special bond after Morikawa won at Harding Park the 2020 PGA Championship. Sessinghaus has been a teacher for many years in Southern California. He is the head of the FlowCode Golf Academy, Burbank. He started working with Morikawa when he was eight years old.
Sessinghaus told Golfweek that he was working with his son when his father approached him. “Collin had him with him, and he was wearing a big smile and carrying a cute little golf bag. After two swings I said: “You bet, I’ll work with him.”
Morikawa noted that it was also time.
“I felt it was necessary to change something at some point. “What I saw over the last two years was not up to my standards, goals and expectations,” he said.
Morikawa won two majors in a short time and rose to No. In a short time, he reached No. 2 in the World but struggled to reproduce his reliable fade which allowed him to remove the left side from play. Stephen Sweeney, a short-game coach, began working with him late last year in order to improve his putting and chips. It paid off quickly.
In January, he had a huge lead in the Sentry Tournament of Champions but Jon Rahm beat him on Sunday with a score of 63. In July, he lost in a playoff against Rickie fowler at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He finished the season in the top 30, despite going 27 months without winning, in the FedEx Cup. In September he represented Team USA at the Ryder Cup.
Morikawa stated that he started working with Mark Blackburn before winning the Zozo. Blackburn is the 2020 PGA of America coach of the year, whose stable also includes Max Homa, Justin Rose and Justin Rose.
“Obviously, there is no better way to begin, but this tip of the iceberg will help us dig deeper and know exactly what we are going to do,” said Morikawa.
