Collin Morikawa goes nuclear; matches PGA Tour career-best at Tour Championship

ATLANTA — The only thing hotter than the 95-degree heat that scorched East Lake on Thursday was Collin Morikawa on the back nine.

He made six straight birdies, pouring in par-breakers on holes 10 through 15, soaring up the leaderboard and into contention. In doing so, Morikawa matched his own personal PGA Tour record. He last made six consecutive birdies during the first round of The Sentry, which, funny enough, also came on holes 10 through 15 at Kapalua. But he unfortunately blew a massive 54-hole lead that week, losing to Jon Rahm by a pair.

Nevertheless, Morikawa began the Tour Championship at 4-under par via the starting strokes format and now sits at 9-under after day one. He shot a 5-under 66 and is now tied for second with Xander Schauffele.

“After [the front] nine, I told myself to start only thinking about my shot and not worrying about if the ball is going to be perfect or not,” Morikawa said.

“We executed some shots and made some putts. Look, the game is good enough to come out here and win. I’ve just got to get out of my own head.”

Morikawa went on to explain how he has had to fight his own personal battles and strive for golfing perfection more than anyone else.

“I want to see the perfect shot. I want to see this high, peely cut that I’ve always hit. You work so hard on the range and the weeks before to hit that shot, and sometimes it doesn’t produce that,” Morikawa explained.

Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images

“But it doesn’t mean that you have to play golf like that. At the end of the day, it’s like I’m trying to hit it 150 yards. I just want it to land 150 yards and figure it out from there. It’s knowing what to accept and what not to accept out there.”

With that said, Morikawa had plenty of good shots to accept, especially on the back nine. But he did get off to a lackluster start, opening with a 1-over 37 on East Lake’s front side.

“I wish [my run] would have started on hole 1, but it’s going to be a good reminder going into the next three days that I’ve just got to see my shot and execute,” Morikawa said.

“Not that I’m trying to do too much, but there’s this nice flow and rhythm in your routine sometimes when you’re playing well, and how do you find that. Sometimes it’s just barely off, but it causes some bad shots.”

Morikawa did not hit many bad shots on Thursday, at least not on the back-nine. He did miss a good look for birdie on the par-5 18th, but other than that, he played flawless golf down the stretch.

But now he faces a seven-shot deficit to World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who fired a 6-under 65 on day one. And yet, it’s only the first day plenty of golf remains. With his improved mindset, in which he focuses on the results and not the process, anything is possible for Morikawa. He has proven that before and most certainly can do so again this weekend.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.