Collin Morikawa arrived at Riviera feeling confident ahead of the Genesis Invitational this week.
Morikawa ended a 28-month wait for a PGA Tour win by capturing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am title last week. He now heads into the Genesis Invitational looking to make it two wins in as many starts, and doing so on home turf would be even sweeter.
The Los Angeles native had gone over two years without a victory before his breakthrough in Pebble Beach, but that result has changed how people are talking about him again.
He is back in the conversation as one of the top players around, and it is hard to argue with that assessment.
At his best, Morikawa’s iron play puts him up there with anyone in the game.
Riviera is a course that should suit his strengths well. Still, there is one factor outside of his control that could still cause issues.
Collin Morikawa highlights unusual conditions at Riviera before Genesis Invitational
The Pebble Beach champion spoke to the media ahead of this week’s event, sharing his thoughts on how he prepares for tournament weeks.
He was asked if he has anyone specifically assigned to help map out a course strategy before tournaments.
“I’ve always done it myself,” the 29-year-old stated.
“It’s myself and my caddie, so Mark and I. We’ve done this for our entire lives. I know a lot of stats go into how you play certain holes and there’s a lot of stats guys out there, but they also don’t know what you see and how you see certain shots.
“Maybe you’re more comfortable on 2 versus 3 versus whatever hole. It’s going to change a lot, I think, how we’re going to play this week or at least the next couple days.”
Morikawa added: “Tomorrow will be very interesting with the rain and the wind. Looks like the last three days will be pretty calm, in a way. But out here, the last two days, I’ve been spinning back 5-irons. You can spin back a 3-wood.
“It’s not normal out here. There’s some pin locations that normally when you step in the fairway you’re looking to, not play defensive, but just give yourself 30 feet. With the greens, it’s going to be interesting to see how we attack, I think, a lot of front and middle pins, and the back pins you’re going just to have to take the 30-foot spinning back and just take your two-putt par.”
Morikawa finished the 2025 season ranked 136th in driving distance and while he has gained some ball speed heading into this season, he remains closer to average in terms of length off the tee.
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