Collin Morikawa waves after finishing his opening round at the 2023 ZOZO Championship. | Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images
After a few weeks off, Collin Morikawa opened the ZOZO Championship with a stellar round as he has the lead early on in Japan.
A few weeks off did not slow Collin Morikawa down at the ZOZO Championship on Thursday.
Instead, it fueled a hot start. He began the tournament with five birdies over his first eight holes.
“Taking [time] off, you never know what you’re going to get,” Morikawa said after his round on Thursday.
“But I’ve been working on a few things trying to get control of the golf ball. I spent a lot of time putting on [Wednesday]. It’s nice to see the work I’ve put in; just kind of recreate that on the golf course. Obviously, you never know how it’s going to be, but it was a fun round today.”
Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images
Collin Morikawa lines up a putt on the 9th hole during the first round of the 2023 ZOZO Championship.
Morikawa’s hard work led to an opening round 6-under 64 at the Accordia Golf Narahsino Country Club in Chiba, Japan.
He holds a one-stroke lead over a bevy of players at 5-under, which includes Eric Cole, who likely will win the 2023 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award, and young Ryder Cup star Nicolai Højgaard.
Argentinian Emiliano Grillo is also part of that group.
As for Morikawa, he made six birdies and zero bogeys while hitting just 7-of-13 fairways.
Yet, he managed to hit 14-of-18 greens, which helped him avoid any mistakes.
“Some holes played a lot shorter with the wind direction and the firmer fairways,” Morikawa reasoned.
“[Take] hole 11; I think I only had 8-iron in; in the practice rounds, I was hitting 5-iron… It’s nice when certain holes that you consider to be essentially par holes, you’re able to give yourself a birdie opportunity, really.”
Morikawa did cash in for birdie at the par-4 11th, a challenging 486-yard par 4.
But he has a long way to go before thinking about winning the tournament altogether.
After all, he has not won since the 2021 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s. Since then, Morikawa has recorded 14 top-10s and eight runner-up finishes.
Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images
K.H. Lee and Collin Morikawa shake hands following their opening rounds at the 2023 ZOZO Championship.
He is no stranger to hot starts, however.
At the 2023 Tour Championship, his last stroke play event, Morikawa blitzed East Lake with a career-low 9-under 61 on Thursday. But he faded over the weekend, carding rounds of 73 and 72 on Saturday and Sunday. That handed the reigns over to Viktor Hovland, who dominated the Atlanta-area course en route to winning the FedEx Cup.
Surely, Morikawa will look to keep his foot on the gas this week in Japan, a place that holds a special place in his heart. His father’s family is Japanese.
“There’s obviously a little bit more meaning to this tournament for me, but look, a win’s a win, I’ll take a win anywhere, right?” Morikawa added. “I’m doing everything I can over the next three days and kind of tonight to make sure I give myself the best opportunity to do that.”
He begins his second round alongside South Korean K.H. Lee and Australian Adam Scott at 10:24 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Golf Channel begins its second-round coverage of the ZOZO Championship at 11 p.m. ET.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
