Collin Morikawa is currently in a difficult situation on the golf course.
Morikawa injured his lower back after playing just one hole at The Players Championship last month, and has yet to fully recover.
advertisement
The 29-year-old performed very well at last week’s Masters, finishing inside the top 10 despite fears of losing again.
Morikawa limped around Augusta National, gingerly picking up balls from every hole, but never once seriously working on his golf swing.
Before his back injury, Morikawa was one of the favorites to win the Masters.
Photo by: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
The injury he sustained came at a very unfortunate time and he is clearly still struggling to overcome it.
Collin Morikawa feels “very scared” on his first golf course
Morikawa addressed the media Thursday night after the opening game of Game 67 at RBC Heritage.
advertisement
When asked how he feels about his back problem, he replied:
“Whatever the idea of 50 percent is, I’m still confused.“ The 29-year-old man admitted.
“The body could be a little better than that. It’s hard to trust my body right now.
“It’s a very unpleasant feeling. I had never experienced anything like this until about a month ago. When you’re trying to get into a tournament, you don’t have the confidence to say you’re going to hit the shots, and that’s the hardest thing, because for me essentially I’m trying to last all week.
“To test how far you can go, you need to stay in a slightly more comfortable home environment. But we’ll do that after this week.“
advertisement
Mr. Morikawa was then asked about his prognosis.
“I guess what happened in the end is that I don’t feel any pain. I know it looked painful, but it was just so scary. I have never been so scared to go outside and play in my life.“ the two-time major champion acknowledged.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
“But I think that’s because it happened on a golf course. I’ve never had anything behind the scenes happen on the golf course. At the gym every time. Then I go out and swing, and I just say if I feel good enough to swing.
I was very timid and shy in a way because the build-up was going well, but I had a few setbacks, but at the end of the day, I was like, I have to get better at the Masters.
advertisement
“There was a point where I stopped trying to see how far I could get and let’s see what I could do. I have had back issues for the past three years. we’ve seen it. I have to find a way to protect it a little more.“
Colin Morikawa says how long he thinks his problems will last
The two-time major champion was asked by reporters how long he expected the current problems to last.
“I don’t know. I don’t know,“ Morikawa said.
“I think it will take a little more time to push the limit at home. I feel like my swing is a little better, at least in motion, but I can’t say I’m putting in any more effort. Because, like I said, you need to be at home to say, “Okay, let’s gear up.”
advertisement
“If you feel a little uncomfortable, at least you’re at home and not about to play a tournament that essentially requires you to play 72 holes.“
Morikawa’s current problems seem to be more mental than physical.
He needs to overcome whatever the problem is as soon as possible if he wants to win again on the PGA Tour soon.
