Collin Morikawa hoping defence of Open title can sharpen his game at St Andrews

Tradition is great and all of that, but it also has its drawbacks. One of them? Handing back the Claret Jug to the R&A, which is the position Collin Morikawa – winner of the 149th edition of the championship at Royal St Georges last year – found himself in when returning the famous trophy at St Andrews on Monday, a bittersweet ceremonial duty.

How did he feel? “It sucked, it really did,” replied Morikawa, adding: “I woke up this morning and looked at it. The replica is beautiful, but it is not the same thing. It really isn’t. It will never be. But I don’t want to dwell on the past. I always look forward to what’s next, maybe hopefully giving it back kind of frees me up and allows me to focus on winning this week.”

For Morikawa, that winning habit has so far evaded him this year. Where once he was a serial closer of tournaments, winning three times last year and twice in 2020, the two-time Major champion has failed to find consistency or a way to win so far this season.

Indeed, his past three tournaments provide a snapshot of what has, or hasn’t, happened. He has missed the cut in two, the Memorial and last week’s Scottish Open and, in between, he earned a tied-fifth finish in the US Open. That disappointing play he has attributed to some driving issues and some untypical poor wedge play.

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“I am looking for something. We’re at the end of our season. We’re at the fourth Major. [FedEx Cup] Playoffs are coming up pretty soon. I want to give it a run. I really haven’t been in contention at all this year in any tournament, and it sucks because I love being in those spots. I love coming down the stretch and knowing that you’ve got to make some great shots, make some birdies, and close it out, and I just haven’t put myself in that position.

“I’ve had a couple of second-place finishes, and they’ve kind of been come-from-behind second-place finishes where I played really well on the final day. But I need to do a better job Thursday through Saturday to give myself a shot at trying to close out a tournament,” admitted the defending champion.

And, unlike so many others who have played the Old Course through the years, this is brand new terrain for Morkiawa. And rather than feeling at any disadvantage, the American believes that it could be to his favour.

“I think the spotlight is on a lot of other guys this week. I haven’t been playing the best golf year to date. I am the defending champion but we’re at a different course. We’re at a course I’ve never been to. A lot of guys have had history here. For me, it’s like how I do every other week, figure out this golf course, figure out how to play it …

“I can see why guys love it. I can see how special this week can be. I can see how the course can play a million different ways, depending on the weather. Looks like we’re going to get some pretty consistent weather and some wind patterns this week.

“I think overall you’ve just got to be ready to play some good golf out here because you’re going to get some good bounces and probably some bad ones.”