Morikawa targets victory in family home of Hawaii

WORLD No.5 Collin Morikawa has extra motivation to put last week’s disappointing finish behind him in the second event of the PGA Tour’s Hawaii double-header.

Morikawa went into the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui just a shot off the lead after back-to-back rounds of 65, only to struggle to a closing 73 and finish in a tie for seventh.

The US PGA champion has family ties to both Maui – where his grandparents were born and once owned a restaurant – and this week’s venue for the Sony Open on the island of Oahu, where many of his cousins still live.

“We have so many cousins I lose count,” the 23-year-old joked.

“I love the Hawaii swing. Any time I can start in Maui, come to Oahu, I’m going to be playing. Obviously having family out here, my entire dad’s side, it makes things a little more special and makes it feel more like home even though I never lived here.

“Any time you have a tie to a location or a golf course, whatever it is, it just makes you want to kind of win at that location a little more. So hopefully we have a good week this week.”

Morikawa’s victory in the US PGA in August came in just his second appearance in a major and was his third win since turning professional in June 2019, but he was not satisfied with his form afterwards until a tie for 10th on his European Tour debut in Dubai.

“I wouldn’t say golf has been great the tail end of 2020 but I think I’ve kind of turned it around slowly,” he added.