Collin Morikawa came back to competition this week with a new reason to smile and a familiar problem to manage. He and his wife, Kat, recently welcomed their first child, and Morikawa said the change has made him more positive even as he works through a back issue.
The timing matters because he is using the RBC Canadian Open as a live test before next week's U.S. Open. Morikawa said he can stare at his little one “just non-stop” and forget about everything else for a while, but he also knows he still has a job to do when he is on the course.
That balance is the story for him now. Morikawa withdrew one hole into the Players Championship with the back injury, then last started three weeks ago at the PGA Championship, where he said the issue still had not felt comfortable. He also skipped the Memorial Tournament because the baby was due soon, and he said it was tough to watch that event on TV.
There is no mistaking the upside in the moment. Morikawa said fatherhood has given him a lift, but it has not erased the caution that comes with a body issue that can flare again. He said he is still on edge because he does not want it to happen again, even while he and his team are checking the right boxes and trying to build trust in the swing under pressure.
That is why this week in Canada is more than a tune-up. Morikawa, a 29-year-old former Cal Bear who made his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open in 2019, has already won two majors and seven times on the PGA Tour, and he has finished inside the top 10 in half the events he has played this year. The form says he can contend when healthy. The question is whether his body, sleep and timing will let him get there without another setback before the U.S. Open arrives.
For now, he is learning the new rhythm of life in short stretches, including 50-minute naps, and trying not to turn that into an excuse. What comes next is simpler and harder at the same time: play the RBC Canadian Open, test the swing under competitive conditions and see whether the trust he is looking for shows up before the week ahead in the U.S. Open.
