The PGA Tour is in Detroit this week for the Rocket Classic. The weather is expected to be warm, but the course is not the only thing heated.
Collin Morikawa still has not recovered his cool from his heated exchange with a reporter during his pre-tournament press conference. After his first-round performance, a (different) member of the press covering the event asked him to expand on the topic, and the two-time major champion jumped at the chance.
Morikawa elaborated on the reasons that led him to speak the way he did during Wednesday’s press conference.
“I have to stand up for myself because I’m not going to let someone throw little jabs at me and just make me into someone I’m not, because I know who I am and that’s all that matters.”
“I think I have to stand up for myself because I’m not going to let someone throw little jabs at me…”Collin Morikawa follows up on the exchange he had with a reporter during his pre-tournament press conference. https://t.co/XXdJn5Foxj pic.twitter.com/qPhaKhDSC5
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) June 26, 2025
“I know my people, my team, my family know who I am, but this whole perception out there right now is just, it’s a little ridiculous.”
The 28-year-old player also revealed details about his relationship with this particular reporter.
“Look, this has happened twice between the same — between me and Alan. It hasn’t happened between anyone else. A lot of other reporters, media, I respect everyone.”
Fans have shown no mercy to Morikawa for returning to this topic, leaving both criticism and advice on social media:
“Dude DEFINITELY needs to hire a PR consultant,” @johnshewchuk said.
“The irony is if he hadn’t have raised this issue, nobody would even be aware of it. He needs to defend himself from himself, first and foremost. Desperately needs a PR person to advise him,” @thisguy290 posted.
“What the f**k is this dude doing, this is an elite level of owning yourself,” @jonhawks317 wrote.
“He’s trying to create drama bc he feels that golfers are treated unfairly. If you read the article, there are literally no jabs thrown. He should just worry about putting honestly,” @tushpush4L posted.
And it was precisely the putting that was the core issue in Morikawa’s poor first round at the Rocket Classic, golf-wise. The six-time PGA Tour winner lost 4.7 strokes with his putting, the worst record of the 156 players in the field.
“I’ve been so focused on hitting my irons better that I haven’t put enough honestly time into putting. The last couple weeks haven’t been great, but they haven’t felt as bad,” he said.
Morikawa carded an eagle, four birdies and three bogeys on Thursday for a 3-under 69. That score keeps him tied for 66th place. He will tee off at 12:54 pm ET on Friday.
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