KAPALUA (Hawaii) — Collin Morikawa is able to handle the truth.
Two-time major winner, he is coming off his first loss season. He sought advice from Rick Sessinghaus, his longtime coach, and two specialists: putting coach Stephen Sweeney as well as Parker McLachlin (former PGA Tour pro and short-game guru),
Morikawa stated, “I have only answers.” “Before I put it it was like it were guess work.”
Morikawa showed off his full arsenal on Thursday as he shot nine birdies and a bogey-free, 9-under 64 at Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course. This resulted in him sharing the lead at the Sentry Tournament of Champions’ first round with Jon Rahm (J.J. Spaun)
Morikawa stated, “It was to just go out and be patient. Give yourself opportunities.” “The prep felt great at the beginning of the week. We didn’t see many putts. It was great to see one hit the ball from about 30 feet. This just sort of propelled the round from there.”
Morikawa’s ball-striking is second to none since the day he became a professional, but his Strokes Gained : Approach the Green dropped from first to third last year.
He said that he was trying to make things easier by working with his swing coach. It’s just felt. Where do my hands feel in the right place? That’s what it was for me. It takes two weeks to get there and the feelings versus the reals are a bit off.
Morikawa was unable to win last year because of his short stick and poor game. He addressed these issues by adding coaching support. Morikawa began working with Sweeney at the Tour stop Mexico in November. His putting was focused on speed control.
He said, “I think I did a pretty good job today on that, just kinda dripping them into, having really great speed.”
McLachlin worked with him last week on the short game in Hawaii.
“Just trying to figure out new things. He explained that the reason I hit my irons so well is because of my bowed wrist. “Chipping is really difficult when I have to chip with impact. “It’s great to have someone who knows a lot about the short game. You can just bounce ideas off.”
It is not yet clear how involved McLachlin in Morikawa’s future success.
He’s not going to be traveling on the road but someone I can talk to and bounce ideas off of. I have never had a chipping coach. We’re not here for technical details. It’s just to feel and have another person to bounce ideas off of. It’s worked, but it’s still someone I trust and can throw ideas at.
