Just last month Collin Morikawa won his first tournament since 2023, but it was what he announced after the tournament that had everyone talking: a baby with wife Kat.
“Put golf aside, we’re actually expecting later this year, in a few months,” Morikawa said. “We just started telling people this week, and we said what a better way and the best way to announce it to the world, if I was able to come out and win. There’s so much to life, there’s so much to enjoy. I’m hard on myself like I talked about yesterday but I’m just so thankful for the people around me, my team, Kat my wife, my parents, my brother. I’m speechless right now.”
In the two tournaments after his victory, Morikawa hasn’t finished outside the top seven and was a favorite to compete for the Players Championship trophy this week.
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“Was” being the operative word.
Just two holes into his round on Thursday morning, the California native appeared to tweak his back during a practice swing. After pulling himself off the tee and continuing to stretch for a brief moment, Morikawa abruptly withdrew from the competition with a back injury, according to the PGA Tour’s Communications department.
Morikawa started his round on No. 10 and finished with a par on the Par 4 before teeing it up on the Par 5 No. 11 hole that swiftly ended his tournament before it began.
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