Collin Morikawa shared his favourite Masters tradition during the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the two-time major champion says there has been a change at Augusta National
Collin Morikawa has spoken canddly about his favourite Masters tradition(Image: Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)
Collin Morikawa has admitted to taking the pencils every year at Augusta National after being asked about his favourite Masters tradition. However, the two-time major champion concedes that a recent change to longer versions has left him “screwed”.
Morikawa, 29, has yet to win at Augusta, but does have three top-ten finishes from six Masters starts. His best effort was tied third with Max Homa and Tommy Fleetwood two years ago.
On that occasion, Morikawa was just a shot behind overnight leader Scottie Scheffler coming into the final round. However, scoring 74 sent him backwards, with the world No. 1 winning.
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Around a month out from this year’s edition, Morikawa spoke about his favourite tradition during a press conference at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In response to the question, he replied: “I don’t really know, like what? Like what? Can you give me examples?”
The reporter suggested “having a pimento cheese sandwich” or “watching the ceremonial first shot”. Morikawa then responded: “I take their pencils every year. I probably shouldn’t say that. They have gone to longer pencils, so now I’m screwed.”
It is not a one-off for Morikawa, either. The ones used at Pebble Beach are also among his favourites.
The Masters pencils are a favourite of Collin Morikawa’s(Image: Jamie Squire, Getty Images)
Morikawa said: “Pebble’s are staying in the bag, but, you know, I always take a couple, I guess, pencils. He secured a first win in 848 days at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and its prize of £3 million.
The 2021 Open champion is thus one of three players who will have a 2026 signature-event trophy heading into Augusta National. Morikawa believes that breaking the drought changes his approach to tournaments.
He said: “I think just overall mindset, I’ve been a lot – happier is not the right word – but just in a lot better headspace to trust my golf game.
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“I put in a lot of work over the off-season to get there, a lot of work into the body to make sure I could go and hit those shots and execute those shots. The first couple of events of the season didn’t see the results, but you just know you’re going to keep working at it, right?
“That’s part of what we’re doing, is that, even though you finish T-50th or you miss a cut, it’s a couple shots away from doing great and essentially contending. It changes a little bit, but at the same time … you feel good, that doesn’t mean you’re going to play well.
He explained: “You just have to stay on top of everything and just not get too complacent with anything. I’ve been really focused over this last week to really make sure to just tighten everything up.”
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