PGA Tour: Collin Morikawa Leads Sony Open in Hawaii After Opening Round

PGA Tour newcomer Collin Morikawa speaks with the media after taking the opening round lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii following a bogey free round of 65.

Q. That was such an impressive round of golf, the only player in the morning wave to be bogey-free. Tell me about the day.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, it was a really solid day. I mean, off the tee wasn’t great, wasn’t the best driver day I’ve had. I don’t think I hit that many fairways.

Q. Seven fairways.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I hit seven fairways? So, yeah, and out here you got to hit the fairways. But my irons were really good, long irons. Had a bunch of 4- and 5-irons today, and that’s what kept me in it. Hit some close, made some putts, and stayed out of trouble.

Q. You didn’t make all that many putts as far as length is concerned. You’re right around 73 feet. As you said, your ball striking was good and just (wind) 5 for 5, including think three for three out of the bunkers.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: It’s tough out here. I mean, to make putts with that much wind, when you give yourself — if you have a 20-foot birdie putt you got to factor in the wind, the rain, everything. So playing last week got me prepared for today in the wind, and look forward to the next few days.

Q. When you wake up in the morning and see it’s spitting rain and hear the wind blowing do you say, wow, this is a great opportunity to separate myself from the field, or do you wake up and say, this is going to be a long day out there?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: No, I’m ready for every day. I think the harder conditions the better for me. Ball strikers just want to control everything, control the ball, and I had complete control today. That’s what you want to do.

Q. You understand not even a year removed from college you’re played with experience far beyond your years. What do you attribute that to?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just kind of my mental side, how I’ve been raised, how I’ve been grown up. Just being a competitor. I want to be out here. I think I’m ready, I think college prepared me to come out her and start strong.

Q. Your paternal grandparents are from Hawaii. Had a nice little gallery out there. Means something for you to play well here in front of these fans, didn’t it?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, last week felt like home, even though I’ve never lived in Hawaii. Any time out here in Hawaii it’s really nice. It’s a little more comfortable and have some good food for sure.

Q. How good was this?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Really good. I didn’t feel like I hit my driver that well, but long irons, I hit a lot of 4- and 5-irons and I just hit some close. I didn’t make too many putts, but I made the ones I needed to for birdie.

Q. What were the biggest challenges for you out there that you were able to overcome?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just a lot of crosswinds out here. I mean, last week in Kapalua had a lot. Just kind of prepare my distances, you know feel with the wind and everything.

So I think last week just fully got me ready for this week. I was glad I had a good finish last week. Got a few more days here.

Q. Obviously two totally different golf courses. How does the wind affect this golf course compared to Kapalua?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: The fairways are half the width and you’ve got to hit fairways. I don’t think I did a great job today doing that. Got some lucky a breaks where I was in the rough.

The next few days I got to hit a few more fairways, and we’ll be good from there.

Morikawa speaks on his close relationship with Hawaii

Q. Finally, seems like kind of bit of a home game for you. How many are coming out to support you?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I have no clue. Probably a good handful, around a dozen maybe. Yeah, no, just relaxing to be here. Any time you’re able to play around family just makes everything a little more comfortable. You’re able to just focus in on golf.

I love the food out here, so it’s a little plus to that. Yeah, see how everything goes.

Q. Bogey-free round here.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just kind of scrambled really good. The driver, like I said, wasn’t great, but didn’t put me in places that were awful. I still had shots wherever I was. The rough is up, so you just got to get lucky some places where you put it.

Other than that, bunkers felt good. I made one long par putt on 13 I think, 14, somewhere around there, 14 maybe.

But other than that, I stayed — you know, if I had a tough shot, I made sure to stay middle of the green and kind of get away from there.

Q. How would you compare the galleries to some you’ve played in front of in the past?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, playing with Brandy and Patrick, a lot of guys were rooting them on. Being with family out here makes it a little bigger gallery. Yeah, for a first round for me, pretty good. I enjoy it.

Q. Pardon the potentially stupidity of this question, but the wind was blowing so hard I couldn’t tell if your shot out of the bunker hit the lip.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, hit the lip. It hit the lip. Just bad swing. It happens. We were kind of in between clubs on the third shot and we were just like, we can’t miss long. Hit this great 4-iron from about 180. Just drew it up against the wind. I didn’t know where it was going to land. I though it was going to be a little shorter than that, but those are the ones you got to take advantage.

Out here you’re going to hit shots and you’re going to have close birdie opportunities you have to take advantage of because you’re not going to get that many, especially in the wind and rain.

Q. I can’t imagine you’re thinking, I got to take advantage of this hole from 180 into the wind though.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: No, I mean, at that point, no. I was just trying to make par and get out.

Q. You have some family on Maui, right? Many on Oahu as well?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Actually all the family is in Oahu now. Yeah, so my grandparents on my dad’s side were born in Maui, but everyone lives in Oahu now. So all the cousins, aunts, uncles, they’re all out here.

Q. Kind of give you that home course feeling?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, a little bit. In the amount of times I’ve been to Hawaii as a little kid like I didn’t play that much golf because I wanted to do other things, swim in the ocean.

But it’s nice. It’s nice to have them around. It just feels relaxed, you know, and that’s a good thing. You always want to feel a little more relaxed. You got to focus. I kind of caught myself midway through 12 holes where I got a little too easy, a little too relaxed, and I had to tell myself, come on, let’s finish this round and get a few more birdies in and get through.

Q. When you come here do you find people kind of assume you’re a local guy?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Sometimes. I don’t know, not my — my tan’s definitely not.

Q. When was the first time you played this course?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Monday. Tuesday actually. I didn’t play Monday.

Q. Had people told you anything about it? How prepared were you?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I mean, biggest thing I heard was the walk was going to be nice and flat so I was obviously very happy. My caddie came here maybe four years, five years ago, so the course is a little different. Some greens are changed. But I just heard you got to hit fairways, and that was the one thing I wanted to do, I keep wanting to do for the rest of the week. You got to hit fairways out here.

Morikawa talks about tough first round conditions

Q. When you woke up this morning and looked outside, what did you think?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I mean, it was windy, but we saw this last week. It’s not like I haven’t seen the wind the past week and a half. I think playing last week just really helped me get prepared. I mean, I’m ready. I know what shots to hit in the 30, 40 mile-per-hour gusts that are coming left to right or right to left.

Q. (Indiscernible.)
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I mean, the course is — it sets up to make some birdies, but with the wind, so many crosswinds, you’re going to have so many mid to long irons. But I felt like my game was ready to come out here and play well, and I’m obviously really happy with the 5-under, bogey-free round.

Q. Any issues green-wise blowing so hard?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Greens?

Q. Getting knocked off line, anything like that?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, the wind, when you have left-to-right grain and right-to-left wind, you’re kind of guessing how much that’s going to take it, whether it’s going to go faster, downgrain.

So you just got to be on it. You got to commit to your lines. If you miss, you miss, but let’s hit a good putt first and go from there.

Q. How does it compare with last week on that aspect?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Same. This week the grain I think takes it a little more, especially downgrain, but I’m not — you know, pick your line, commit, and putt. See your line and see it go in, I hope.

Q. You think this course is a little bit tougher course in the wind?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah. I mean, last week the greens were a little bigger. This week the greens are a little smaller, a little more subtle greens in some places, but still got to hit your shots.

The rough, some places are really thick, the ball sits down, and you can’t really move it forward. You got to kind of bounce it up front, and thankfully there’s not too many bunkers up front.

You just got to really place yourself in the right spots. Fortunately for me today, stayed in the right spot.

January 9, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports