Collin Morikawa has a brand new pre-shot routine this week.
Sarah Stier/Getty Photos
Collin Morikawa pulling down flag sticks along with his irons is nothing new, however he’s received a brand new set off for serving to him do it this week on the Sentry.
Morikawa didn’t win in 2024, however he ended up ending second on the Tour Championship and matched his career-high with eight top-10s. And he did all of it along with his worst ball-striking 12 months on Tour, ending forty fourth in strokes gained: method after having by no means completed exterior the highest 4 within the stat his first 4 years on the PGA Tour.
So through the offseason, Morikawa used eight weeks off to tinker along with his sport slightly and he wound up with a brand new preshot routine.
“For those who watch lots of my pictures in the present day, I used to be type of doing this little preset factor earlier than lots of my iron pictures,” Morikawa mentioned Thursday after opening with a seven-under 66. “Simply type of permitting the physique to get to the place it must be within the shot. However, yeah, it’s been working, which has been good. It wasn’t a two-day factor after which throw it within the trash.”
On a lot of his pictures with irons and fairway woods, earlier than Morikawa takes the membership again, he drives into his lead leg by rotating his hips open to imitate his influence place.
It’s a delicate change, however one which’s paying huge dividends for Morikawa by two and a half rounds at Kapalua. By 11 holes of the third spherical Saturday, Morikawa was fifth within the discipline in strokes gained: method, gaining greater than 4.3 pictures on the sphere to date. He’s additionally missed simply two greens by the primary 47 holes of the event.
On Friday, he defined he got here up with the routine to assist him forestall with accidents.
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“I’ve gone by a pair accidents with the again, simply tweaking it slightly bit right here,” he defined after a second spherical 65. “I feel after I attempt to— not play by it, however your physique’s used to sure positions, and we accomplish that a lot repetition with our our bodies, that generally you simply construct unhealthy patterns.
“I simply needed to simply inform myself that I can type of rotate and keep in that place and that’s all it’s actually doing. I’m not serious about it. It’s saying, okay, you’re secure to go there, simply let it go. And it’s been good to see the lower’s been again slightly bit extra with slightly bit extra space.”
