Collin Morikawa looked more like his old self again after an impressive win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday.
It had been a long spell without a victory for Morikawa, but he broke that run with a return to form at Pebble Beach.
His approach play was especially sharp, standing out as the main reason behind his win and reminding everyone just how good he can be.
The timing couldn’t have been better. Morikawa needed a boost after struggling to find form since his last PGA Tour win at the Zozo Championship back in October 2023. This result should help put some of those doubts behind him.
Looking ahead, Morikawa will be aiming to build on this momentum and add more wins in 2026 and beyond.
Collin Morikawa gives credit to golf psychologist after Pebble Beach win
Morikawa was in a great mood after his win at Pebble Beach on Sunday.
But it was actually the day before he sank the winning putt that he spoke about a major reason behind his improved form.
After shooting a 62 in the third round, Morikawa spoke to reporters about how he felt about his game:
“You know, honestly, the last two days it felt really good,” he said.
“I went into this year feeling really good about myself. You go out and play two rounds at Sony and I missed the cut and you realize, man, do I need to redo everything that you thought you were doing for the last two months?
“That’s not really the case. The problem is the results matter sometimes and for me in this world after the past, you know, a year, three years, whatever you want to call it, I just haven’t had the results I’ve wanted. But I know I’m making the right strides, I know I’m inching towards the right direction.
“It’s just I just haven’t seen this momentum to be able to go out and play a low round. If you went back and was able to tap into my phone calls with Rick the past week and a half, a lot of it has had to do with being able to go low and just being able to continue momentum.
It’s very hard to replicate. It’s very hard to do but at the same time you’ve got to be able to play golf out here.”
That conversation with his mental coach clearly played a big part in helping Morikawa get back into form on TOUR for over two years.
How a change in mentality powered Collin Morikawa to victory at Pebble Beach
One of the main things that separate PGA Tour regulars from consistent winners is how they approach tournaments. Morikawa told reporters that he approaches every event with the mindset of trying to win, not just make the cut or finish respectably.
That shift was key for him this week. Speaking after his third round, he said: “I’ve had a lot of conversations with Rick. More frustration, right, of just I go out and even on Thursday I think I had like three or four birdies on a course where I felt like I hit it really, really good.”
“It’s just going out, and he reminded me yesterday when I first came out and turned pro, like I didn’t care about honestly making cuts or top-20s, I came out to win.”
“When he told me that yesterday, there was that mindset switch going into today. I wanted to come out and win, win the weekend, win the tournament. Now we’ve given ourselves a chance.”
He went on to say: “It’s a small mindset adjustment and without him telling me that who knows what I would have shot today. But I’m out here to win.”
“When you finish 30th 15th 3rd at the end of the day like I want to win.
I’ve got to set that mindset at the beginning of the day at the beginning of the week and now we think we’ve given ourselves at least a chance come tomorrow.“
There will now be plenty watching Morikawa closely for the remainder of 2026 season.
The big question is whether his Pebble Beach triumph marks a full return to form or if it’s simply an isolated result.
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