Collin Morikawa: “Slow game, fines useless”

The game on the PGA Tour continues to be slow.

Today begins what is universally recognized as “the fifth Major” where, inevitably, we will witness other episodes of poor time management by the players on the field.

As we know, the PGA Tour Board, at the end of last season, decided to implement the fine system to send a strong signal in order to combat the slowness of the game.

Well, it is precisely from one of the potential recipients of the sanctions that comes a testimony on their ineffectiveness.

During the interviews on the sidelines of The Players Championship, Collin Morikawa, one of the favorites on the eve, in light of his second place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, clearly expressed his thoughts on the punishments envisaged for slow players.

Collin Morikawa, statements

“I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to see it implemented, but I think, after talking to some of the guys, that we need to start giving out real penalties, whether they’re penalty strokes given during play or deductions from points in the FedEx Cup.”

“What I understand is that fines are useless.”

“We make a lot of money, and some guys, frankly, might not care – given that I have no idea how much the fines are – how much they have to pay, whatever it is.”

“I think they care about playing golf that they’re happy with, getting to the playoffs and making sure they get to the end.”

“…I think the fans need to understand that the slow game problem is not going to be solved…”

Born in Los Angeles to Debbie and Blaine Morikawa, of Chinese and Japanese descent respectively, he began playing golf at the age of 5.[1] He studied at the University of California – Berkeley, where he played the sport from 2015 to 2019 before graduating with a degree in business administration. In December 2021, Morikawa became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Katherine Zhu. They married on November 26, 2022.

He turned professional in 2019 by taking part in the Canadian Open, where he placed 14th. In August 2020, he won the PGA Championship on his first attempt, then repeated the success in July 2021 by winning the British Open, again as a rookie.[1][2] This made him the first golfer in history to win two majors in his first appearance.[1] The Californian also became the seventh golfer since 1900 to win the Open on his debut – after Jock Hutchison (1921), Denny Shute (1933), Ben Hogan (1953), Tony Lema (1964), Tom Watson (1975) and Ben Curtis (2003)[3] – in addition to setting a new record for strokes on the Royal St. George’s course with 265 (the previous record of 267, set in 1993, was held by Greg Norman).[3]. In 2021, he took part in the XXXII Olympic Games in Tokyo, finishing third after the scheduled fourth rounds, but tied with nine other golfers. However, in the playoffs he was overtaken by Pan Cheng-tsung, finishing in fourth place.