In a candid revelation, golf star Collin Morikawa has pinpointed a specific shot from his performance during the 2024 PGA Tour season that he wishes he could take back. The shot, which he describes as ‘horrendous,’ played a crucial role in his inability to secure a win, despite being recognised as a major contender against Scottie Scheffler in the season-ending Tour Championship.
As a world number five player, Morikawa’s challenge is not merely to deliver good performances, but to convert them into victories, thereby solidifying his position as one of Scheffler’s most formidable threats. However, a series of missed opportunities in 2024 has kept this goal out of Morikawa’s grasp.
One such instance occurred at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, where Morikawa was trailing Scheffler by four shots as they entered the final round. Despite a valiant effort, the two-time major winner ended the tournament one shot behind his competitor.
The pivotal moment that Morikawa recalls with regret occurred on the par-three 16th hole, where a three-putt cost him heavily as Scheffler made par. In a recent video shared by the PGA Tour on social media, Morikawa expressed his disappointment at his first putt on the 16th hole, wishing he could take it back.
Morikawa recalled, “I was against Scottie. I made a bogey on 16. I guess I would have two mulligans on that hole. I had the birdie putt on 15. I missed really, really badly from like five feet. Then I made a bogey on 16. My first putt was horrendous, and that, you know, it doesn’t mean I am going to win, but at least I wasn’t giving him a shot.”
Moving into 2025, Morikawa has shown promising form, finishing second at The Sentry and T17 twice at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational. The American golfer is scheduled to compete in the upcoming Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
However, Morikawa is not the only golf player to have regrets. Justin Thomas, a two-time major winner, also shared a moment from the 2018 PGA Championship that he wishes he could do over. On the brink of potentially overtaking leader Brooks Koepka at Bellerive Country Club, Thomas was left ruing a misjudged wedge shot, which he believes cost him the tournament.
Thomas recounted, “I was like one back at the PGA at Bellerive, and I was a couple of groups ahead of Brooks, and I had like a sand wedge into the hole. It was a back left pin, and I just hit a god-awful wedge shot into the back bunker and actually hit a really good bunker shot to like three feet, and I missed that. I made bogey. I’d like that one again because I feel like if I birdie that hole, I potentially had the chance to get some momentum and make another two or three birdies coming in and win another PGA.”
Professional golfers, like any athletes, are always striving for perfection, and it’s these missed opportunities that often haunt them more than their victories bring them joy. This sentiment is clearly echoed in the reflections of Morikawa and Thomas, who, despite their impressive achievements, continue to strive for better performances on the green.
