Collin Morikawa in search of a 2nd PGA title and hoping his cranky back is up to the task

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) — Collin Morikawa’s start-and-stop season is a big go at the PGA Championship.

For now.

The two-time major winner — and 2020 PGA champ — is still dealing with back issues that first surfaced after the opening hole of The Players Championship in March, forcing his first withdrawal of the 2026 season and sidetracking a torrid start that included his first victory in 28 months.

The seven-time PGA Tour winner, who withdrew from two other events, is dealing with an occasional cranky back and trying to learn to live with the accompanying uncertainty.

“I wish I was 100% healthy,” the 29-year-old said. “The body doesn’t feel bad, just it’s uncomfortable, and there’s a trust factor. I’m kind of having to deal with … I can’t imagine wanting anyone to deal with it because it’s just a very weird feeling of not trusting the body and yet knowing that things are going to be OK. So, it’s just taking it day by day, doing what I need to do.”

The disappointing exit at TPC Sawgrass came after a great season-opening run. He won at Pebble Beach, finished tied for seventh at The Genesis Invitational and placed fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A week later, back spasms at The Players knocked him out of the championship, and the back has been a consideration ever since.

Morikawa withdrew from the Texas Open ahead of the Masters and tied for seventh at Augusta National while dealing with back discomfort. The following week — again with back issues — he placed fourth at Hilton Head. Two weeks later, he finished down the leaderboard in a tie for 62nd in a signature, no-cut event at Doral.

Morikawa skipped last week’s Truist Championship, another signature event. While that wasn’t something he originally envisioned, he is learning to adjust on the fly.

“For me, even taking last week off, even though that wasn’t really the plan, it’s so big to just be able to reset sometimes and then come out and say, ‘Oh, man, I’m ready to go.’”

He also is realizing there is more to golf than just his swing and has become more aware of his mental approach to the game. And, that’s his focus at Aronimink as he chases another Wanamaker Trophy.

“The mental game is a big aspect of it,” he said. “You’re able to push yourself that much farther. Trust me, it was very, very uncomfortable to play the Masters and very uncomfortable to play the week after at Hilton Head, but you just have to keep pushing.

“Whatever the next week or weeks, I’m going to have to just breathe it out after this. Like, I will do everything it takes to play some great golf starting Thursday for four days.”

Morikawa credits his physiotherapy team and others with keeping him competitive and said something as simple as caddie Mark Urbanek handing him a water bottle and saving him from bending goes a long way.

At Augusta National, Morikawa said, he let his body adjust to the course. Instead of trying to overpower the layout, he tried to capitalize on the course’s slope and became more accepting of shot shaping.

“I think over the last month and a half, it’s just shown that there are many, many different ways to play golf. You obviously wish you were healthy, that you could just go out there and see target, hit target. But, it doesn’t mean that you’re out of the tournament.”

Morikawa followed his PGA Championship win at TPC Harding Park in 2020 with a victory at the British Open in 2021 at Royal St. George’s. Lots of time has passed since those major wins, but he’s confident he can recapture that success — maybe even at Aronimink.

“Yeah, it’s a long time, and you don’t forget the win, and you don’t forget that you can do it, but I think that’s just more motivation to go out there and knock another one out,” he said. “That ’20-’21 stretch, golf was pretty easy.

“But you go through life, and that’s part of life, and you figure it out.”

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