When Collin Morikawa broke onto the scene with a victory in his first appearance in the PGA Championship in 2020, and then did the same thing in The Open 12 months later, everyone thought he would be golf's next big thing. That's not to say he isn't one of the best players in the world; his fifth-place ranking would say otherwise. But he probably would have liked to add more to his trophy cabinet by now.
The 29-year-old hasn't won a major since lifting the Claret Jug at Royal St George's in 2021, and he's won just twice on the PGA Tour in that time: The Zozo Championship in 2023 and the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month.
It's that recent win in California that could be the turning point, though. It's the spring in his step that he may need after a dry spell, and it might have come at the right time, as the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players and the Masters are all on the horizon. If he could win only one of those, we're sure he'd say the latter.
Morikawa has had a good run at Augusta National in recent years, finishing fifth in 2022, T10 in 2023, T3 in 2024, and T14 last year. He's proven that he can challenge in Georgia, and with a recent victory giving him a much-needed momentum boost, he could firmly be in contention.
It's not just that win that will give him confidence, either. Despite a rocky start to the season, missing the cut at the Sony Open and finishing outside the top 50 in Phoenix, he won at Pebble Beach and recorded a T7 at the Genesis Invitational. His Masters betting odds of 33/1 are also tempting for a top finish.
Built for Augusta
Augusta National rewards precision over power, and few players on tour are more metronomic from tee to green than Morikawa. His iron play is consistently ranked among the best in the world, and the ability to control trajectory, shape shots in both directions and attack pins from distance is exactly what Augusta demands week in, week out.
The par fives are there to be attacked, the par threes punish anything short of precise, and the par fours require the kind of consistent ball-striking that Morikawa has built his entire game around.
His record at Augusta reflects it. Across six starts, he's posted a fifth, two top-tens, and a T3, with only a T44 on debut and a T18 in his second appearance pulling the averages down. The overall trend is clearly upward, and a player who finished third in 2024, one of the most competitive Masters in recent memory, cannot be dismissed lightly.
What comes next matters
The Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship are the final proving grounds before Augusta. Both events attract elite fields, and how Morikawa performs under that pressure will tell us plenty about where his game is heading into the first major of the year. Strong finishes there would sharpen the golf odds in his favour considerably.
It's also worth remembering that Morikawa has shown a real habit of stringing results together when his game clicks. His dominant 2021 season, winning The Open and the DP World Tour Championship, showed what he's capable of when confidence and form align. A Pebble Beach win followed by a T7 at the Genesis Invitational suggests that alignment may be happening again at exactly the right moment.
Can he win the Masters?
At 33/1, Morikawa offers genuine value for a player who has consistently delivered at Augusta and arrives in form. The iron play is elite, the course suits him, and the momentum is there. If he can carry that form through the Arnold Palmer and The Players, he could walk into Augusta as one of the most dangerous players in the field, regardless of what the odds might suggest.
