2022 Presidents Cup Captain Trevor Immelman stated that he would call Collin Morikawa, two-time major winner, to clarify his comments about the 26-year old’s early career as “his bar and his standard”.
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Morikawa won six tournaments his first three seasons of playing on the tour. The golf world was confident that he would continue in this vein for many years. While he hasn’t won a tournament for over 20-plus tournaments since then, he is still a top-10 world ranked player.
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The 25-year old is second only to Tiger Woods in consecutive cuts made at the beginning of a professional golf career. His form from June 2019 through November 2021 includes three major events: the PGA Championship Championship, Open Championship, and the DP World Tour Championship – three of the most prestigious and prestigious events within the sport.
One of the results of early success is to continue to find more, not just to satisfy yourself, but to satisfy those who watch the sport closely. Immelman’s latest comments may have been misinterpreted not only by the player, but also by the media.
Morikawa signed for a five birdie, two-bogie round of Mayakoba’s third round. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis then asked him about Immelman’s comments.
“You know Trevor Immelman said it during our broadcast, when we were watching you play, that your success was possible your benchmark, your standard. What was it like?
Morikawa contributed two points to the USA’s defense of the Presidents Cup in Quail Hollow. However, he did not seem to be too enamored by the question:
The player replied, “Wow, that’s difficult to hear from him,” he said. His most recent finish was second at the Genesis Invitational in February.
“To tell the truth, I couldn’t care less about what he said there because that’s not my bar,” stated Morikawa before going on:
“I believe I have so much to learn. I have been at the bottom of the putting rankings and I don’t believe I’ve ever finished anywhere close to being an average player. I believe there are many things I can do to improve my putting.
These numbers clearly hurt. Morikawa was 131st in strokes-gained-putting for the 2022 season but currently ranks 202nd out of 206 players for 2023.
“So, I don’t know. Although I don’t know from where it came, that kind of stings. That is something I don’t like.
A former top-ranked amateur, has been a consistent player in the top-10 ball-striking players for many years. He has averaged about plus-five shots per tournament from tee to green over the past four events.
The short stick is the problem – in those four events. Morikawa’s top-class long game has been neglected. He lost three shots and suffered losses at East Lake, Congaree, and Congaree. Whilst no strokes-gained figures were available at the Zozo, he ranked 71st for putting average from 19th in greens-in-regulation.
It happens. We’ve seen it with a lot of players over time, but it hurts when it is pointed out.
Morikawa was not impressed when Immelman said that he meant his comments to be a compliment and pointed out his quality.
“I don’t know if it was a compliment. I will be truthful. The player admitted that he might have done it, but that may not be the case.
He said, “For me I’ve never seen any ceiling.” I want to continue improving. We made some mistakes this year. But we are still trying to improve every day.
“I expect myself play well. It is hard to achieve high goals, and it hurts when they don’t happen.”
Immelman said that he was open to explaining how his comments might have been misinterpreted:
“I was referring to the fact that he had an amazing start to his career and won two majors very quickly. You feel more pressure to maintain that level of success in many ways. That extra pressure was unnecessary, I believe. Take a step back and see the incredibleness of it all. Then, let it flow a bit more.
He guessed that his words might have been misunderstood:
We all know how amazing he is. Over the past few days, I have been predicting that he will return to a run similar to this one.
“But don’t be too hard on yourself. He has been saying a lot lately that his swing may not feel as comfortable. But, when I look at the stats last year, he’s still third in strokes gained approach, which is a huge weapon. It is a great asset to your game.”
Immelman concluded that he wanted to clear the air.
“Maybe there was a miscommunication. Collin will be calling me later today .”
A former Masters champ confirmed via Twitter, that he had spoken with Collin to clear up any misunderstandings.
Total misunderstanding.
Collin was reached by phone and at the range last night. It was all good.— Trevor Immelman (@TrevorImmelman) November 6, 2022
