Collin Morikawa Interview: Golf Journey, Coffee, and Crazy Tour Stories

Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa reveals his morning coffee routine, talks about the ups and downs of his golf journey, discusses his favorite PGA Tour cities, & shares funny stories from the road. Dive into his unique golf journey and learn about the insights and challenges he faced along the way. 📈

Key Highlights:
– 🎙️ Collin’s coffee preferences and morning routines
– 🍽️ Top PGA Tour cities for food and coffee
– 🏆 Collin’s path from college golf to pro success
– 📉 Overcoming struggles with his golf swing and putting
– 🏌️‍♂️ Insightful discussions about golf strategy and mindset

Collin also reminisces about his unforgettable drive at the 16th hole during the PGA Championship and nearly breaking Tiger Woods’ record for consecutive cuts made.

Don’t miss out on this engaging conversation. Like, comment, and subscribe for everything golf! 🏌️‍♂️🏆 #golf #pgatour #progolf #golfpodcast #golftrip #pgachampionship #memorial #justinthomas #scottiescheffler #collinmorikawa #saucegardner #pgatourpodcast #golfswing #golfanalysis #golftips #GolfSecrets #GolfAdvice #GolfTips #WinningStrategies #CollinMorikawaSecrets #rydercup #goodgood #granthorvat #bryanbros #brysondechambeau #bryson

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
02:00 – Best PGA Tour City for Food
05:00 – Bronny James
07:38 – When You Turned Pro
11:15 – How Collin Morikawa Met His Caddie, JJ
15:41 – Collin Morikawa’s Cut Streak
18:02 – How his PGA Championship Win Changed His Life
20:00 – 2020 PGA Championship
22:53 – 2021 Open Championship
27:45 – What’s Next After Winning the Open Championship
29:35 – The Start of Your Struggles
34:55 – Stephen Sweeney
38:44 – What Did You Learn from Mark Blackburn
43:18 – Learn to Hit the Center of the Face
46:40 – Wrapping Up 2024
51:06 – Closing the Deal and Winning
53:06 – The Memorial Tournament
56:05 – You’re a wizard, Collin.
59:04 – Collin’s Schedule for the Rest of the Year

[Music] H Smiley caufman for 61 wow I’m Smiley caufman and this is the Smiley Show all right guys welcome back to another episode of the Smiley Show thrilled to have Colin morow joining us today Colin what time is it where are we what’s the uh what’s on the uh coffee order for this morning are you a coffee drinker I am a coffee drinker thanks for having Smiley uh we’re back home we’re in Vegas 7:00 nice and early start uh we we have this nice fancy coffee machine I don’t know how to use it uh but I like cat do the thing and we got like a little just a little bit of brown sugar kind of like a shaking espresso like that you would get at Starbucks but just way better um just regular milk little bit of sweet cream and just so like you can still taste the coffee which is really good um so yeah but I don’t drink on the road like I don’t no Jitter I almost get a little jittery yeah and I I like I think it’s a little Scar Tissue I I used to drink a lot of coffee in college like we we all did and i’ go to qualifying on like a small I drank a lot of coffee a a lot of coffee um but like I’d go to qualifying it I’d have the Jitters and I’m like oh it’s probably not the best idea so yeah it’s probably a good call and I would imagine that you drank a lot of coffee because probably Cal was a much more difficult School than LSU so I probably didn’t have quite as tough of a time as you did maybe maybe a little maybe a little bit I I wouldn’t put them you know maybe their bubbles touch a little bit you know if you put like a ven diagram on like academics Athletics maybe it’s like slightly yeah the classes I went to is how how how can you how good are you at peeling a crawfish how fast can you maybe chug a beer and then a little bit of marketing stuff be good no I think I’d be good at that yeah I should maybe I should should have went to Elsia yeah I’m sure you still got some eligibility left we’d love to have you at the Tigers go tigers tigers it’s 7 a.m. so I need to get you warmed up a little bit we can’t just jump right in here so what I want to know what’s your favorite what’s your favorite PJ tour City to visit for food uh or coffee too yeah um La is like cheating so I’m like I’m gonna take Riv I’m gonna take La out like I was I grew up there um we don’t go to New York enough like what was fun like you know obviously we just came back from Travers and that was amazing cuz you have a ton of pizza so like that’s awesome so New Orleans has grown on me like Louisiana has grown me I my first stop for dessert classic was actually I was like okay I was like getting used to it obviously a lot of butter a lot of heavy food a lot of fried food and now I’ve found my spots like my favorite restaurant I think one of my favorite restaurants all year is this place called Shia sh know if you’ve ever been sh restaurants Mediterranean Greek um Lebanese type food and it is I mean it is one of my favorite spots um like it’s hard to pick a city because some of the Cities I just have like one or two spots right and and I’ll just eat there all week so that’s I just rinse and repeat yeah the first time you have those Char grilled oysters in New Orleans for the first time you see all the butter and you’re like man these are unbelievable and then the next day like why do I feel like [ __ ] yeah not even the next not even the next day like night they they have on the proam they have him during the proam now on Wednesday so like you tea off on 10 and they’ll have it on the first te and I mean you’re on the toilet in like two and a half hours like you’re trying to rush this 18-hole pram group kind of go a little faster my best New Orleans story uh at the zerk one year it was the first round I’m player with David THS and Charlie Hoffman so David THS is like the best crowd and similar situation get off to a rough start with the stomach and on the 12th T porta potty ride over there needed needed to go and come out hit my t- shot had no idea and David Toms and Charlie Hoffman being the older veterans that they are they did tell me had toilet paper draped on the back of my my belt loop so that’s New Orleans summed up in a think I don’t think I’ll ever go I don’t think I’ll ever take a deuce in a porta potty I don’t think I ever have buddy it was I didn’t have an option I don’t no I don’t care if there’s an option I think I’d rather go in a bush I think I’d rather like squat on the side and go in a porta potty those p pities are disgusting like absolutely tough scene absolutely s really tough start to the tournament on my third hole that’s nice that’s a good feeling hey I mean freed you up probably freed you guys up and you just I guess actually cuz that was the week after spring break the first time we went I shot 6881 so I don’t know if that was the first round or the second round I’m going to have to guess it was the second we’re we’re going to guess it was the second round alternate or best alternate shot so that was probably a little brutal one yeah uh dude you mentioned La too I know that’s your favorite city it’s where you that’s that’s your town are we going to talk a little brownie bronie LeBron like is that yeah man I was I was at so you know I practiced at Summit and I was in the cold plunge and hopped in sauna and literally 2 minutes later or 20 minutes later I look at my phone and bronnie gets drafted um look I think I have mixed reviews I’m very happy for JJ reck I got to know JJ a little bit um he’s he’s the best he so good so I’m excited for him and you know me growing up Kobe fan I’ve gotten know Pal Gasol a little bit over the past few years like Lakers to me is like that’s everything like that’s what I watch growing up I’m a huge Lakers fan huge Dodgers fan um so I’m excited to see where it goes obviously you know he had the health scare so I think that kind of like took him out a little bit to see what his full potential was in college um but it’s interesting I mean you’re you know you’re like what he was a 55th draft pick you’re kind of in that zone where like now you got to go prove yourself you know it’s like you got to go prove yourself whether it’s in summer league or whatever it is and like earn a spot like he’s everyone’s talking about the name and all that stuff obviously he wants to play with Bron I think it was like a play I think it was a play for the Lakers to keep LeBron that’s a good point right because he wants to play with good point yeah and you know if I was another team like I was reading things like the Celtics should have just drafted him I think it was the Celtics before like the Celtics should have just drafted should have Dro drafted him in the first round then got LeBron to go to Detro and just like just held him just held him like you know by by a little string right here and be like hey hey hey LeBron come on um so you know it’s who knows what we’re going to see um but the Lakers I mean the Lakers need I I think a full just reset you know I think they’re at a spot now where the West the you know the West Coast conf you know west side is just looking so strong and it’s you know LeBron’s getting old not that he’s not amazing but he needs he needs other players around him yeah la is definitely a Lakers town and a Dodgers town so I imagine that you’re constantly following those teams and I’m interested to see how bronnie does too because the stats doesn’t really validate a second round pick by any means but he definitely has good jeans I’d say so we’ll see what happens there with bronnie it helps it helps it I mean look the the knowledge is there and that’s like a big part of it is like you know just understanding the game like he’s got that and he’s got the best dad you could ask for in the world so yeah he’s pretty good at his job I’d say man it’s not bad so let’s get into what I I just it’s always fun too to to kind of have guys like yourself come on and then and just do a bit of a deep dive into when you turned Pro and where you are now and just kind of look out throughout the years and there’s things that I picked up on that I was like man I don’t remember that and holy crap that’s kind of wild to think about and I’m sure you have those moments too looking back at over the years thinking man I was kind of young and I was kicking ass so let start in 2019 you know you go to Cal you have a tremendous career there and before we kind of get to when you turned Pro was was there a ever an option or a decision while you’re in college to to leave early the thought was definitely there so I go I’m going to go all the way back to the summer between my freshman and more year and I played one corn Fair event I got in through a sponsor exemption through transmiss and like back then I feel like I like now we’re seeing I mean we’re seeing miles Russell he’s a 15-year-old kid playing a PJ tournament right we’re seeing all these amers play and like even six seven years ago when I was in college like I didn’t feel like as many of us were playing in these events to kind of get starts and just to learn what it’s like so lost in a playoff in Witchita Kansas is like one of my favorite States I think my record there if we ever have a tournament in Kansas just you know lay the hammer on me um yeah it’s it’s over like people are done you know I think I finished like first second second we need a US Open at Prairie Dunes there you go set like I’m I’m there um so that was my first time where I got a true test of like what professional golf it was was like lost in a playoff to Oi Schneider Jens I’m pretty sure you played against like you guys are roughly the same age right yeah yeah yeah what what year so you were going to sophomore year I didn’t even go this far back 2016 goodness gracious man yeah but I mean I was still no one like I I was not I was not anyone at that point um and that’s where I was like okay well maybe you know if I won and like everyone in my corner was like no like you’re not like that’s not smart so fast forward get their junior year if you would have won if you would have won would you have you think you would just turned Pro I don’t know I I like I 100% would not have been ready like golf game wise everything like I would not have been ready but it’s hard to say no if win as an Amer and say okay I’m I’m going to stay an Amer and go back to college right yeah um but lost it all worked out so you know you fast forward to junior year I have a great junior year um and at that point you know I’m like okay I I can go but from the very start I said I was going to go to college finish up you know I got in the business school two-year program and I just felt bad that like I’m doing all this stuff to accomplish these goals and it’s not like I’m not just signing up and doing this stuff just for fun you know people do that and like so be it like they had they know what they’re setting forth but one of my goals is to finish college and I had one more year at that point golf was never going away we didn’t know what covid was um I mean think about I feel so bad for those kids that were you know graduating at that time but it was not going away I I could prove myself even more and and just get more reps and kind of use that senior year to just be as prepared as I could so I use that senior to get as prepared as I could for when I turned Pro and I thought I had one of the easiest transitions turning pro in that summer of 19 where I was like not shocked at all golf you obviously had to play good golf but like nothing surprised me um from any direction when I when I was out there which you showed yeah you showed up to The Travelers I I that was your first uh sponsors exemption after you had turned Pro right no that was my second so I played I played Canada so I went sectionals okay Canada US Open Travelers that was the first one I just assumed maybe and S those were all their first ones um but I got in Canada and like I yeah got the ball rolling fast as I could because I I was looking at the Trav where you you finished t36 there and then 3M was interesting because you know you finish second to Matthew wolf but then it’s also kind of a a good you know reflection of at that time you know it was the three guys that everybody was talking about it was you it was Matthew wolf and it was Victor havlin how much did you pay attention to what other guys were doing I know you looked Matthew wolf head-to-head and eye to eye at the 3M but right from the get-go I mean you guys were just off to such a fast start yeah I I I think when it comes down to it is like we all we’re all obviously all playing Great Golf like that’s within it itself but like our belief in ourselves that like we could do it and then seeing seeing Matt play well seeing Victor play really well is just like we’re just going to kind of like ride each other you know not that we are competing against each other but essentially we were the three to four sponsor exemptions every single tournament for that summer and we all wanted the same goal right we all wanted to earn our card for the next year and um after wolf had won I mean that was his what second start or third start second start like like We’re Off to the Races now and it’s like no slacking I mean Wolf’s getting into the wgc’s at that point like he’s getting in everything um and after so after 3M was like okay well I’m I was like really close to earning enough points and that 125 um and that’s this is one of my favorite stories is like we get to John Deere the next week I finish fourth I finish up and like you know I’m happy but like whatever I’m I’m kind of over it and JJ’s like oh you just earned your card like congrats and I was I was like yeah thanks and he’s like you knew you were going to do it and I was like I did so that was like a point where in our relationship with me and JJ who who’s my cadd is like we just had that sense of like we’re going to get things done you know you kind of set your mind to it there’s all a million pieces that have to go right um but he was like oh like huh okay maybe we maybe we can do it like it wasn’t like a fluke a week ago and it wasn’t a fluke this week it’s like okay you know things you just play good golf and good golf takes care it anywhere and that’s like the simple truth of it how did you meet JJ and how’d y’all get set up he uh I was actually interviewing like I had three caddies that I had lined up like to call like and that’s it and like I mean you’ve gone through this like I don’t know how to hire like how do you hire a caddy like no there’s no book on how to hire these guys and right you know right before I I was going to go to sectionals this was maybe like a month before he reached out to my agent my agent and you know my agent called him up sounded like a good guy and so I I called him up too and uh the only question I asked him was like are you organized and like for me that’s like everything like I I just want to be on time I want someone to be there someone I can trust um so we started working and sectionals was our first event we he noticed that like I literally could not putt for my life like I think we went through we were like through 20 holes I had hit maybe 18 out of 20 greens had like a million 15 to 20 Footers and on like the 20 21st toll of our second 18 he’s he’s looking at me he’s like hey like you know I’m I’m a pretty good like I’m a pretty good golfer like I I read putts pretty well like you want me to read a putt I’m like sure like I mean I can’t sniff the hole so we have like a 35 footer I drain it we go to the next to I have like 25 feet I drain it um and then we make it on the we make it on the number so that was a nice start to our uh to our caddy player relationship there yeah little did JJ know that that that 35 and 25 Footers what got him the job yeah exactly like keep 20 ft and he finally gets the ball to go in the hole it’s like yeah you’re hired you’re hired exactly like oh man you can read a putt like done sign me up yeah and and you got off to such a fast start and I think a stat that that that I’m sure that you get frustrated by now is it it’s an incredible stat because it it’ll probably nobody will get as close to a Tiger Woods record like you did and consecutive Cuts made right off the get-go I believe it was 22 two consecutive made cuts to start your PJ tour career Tiger Woods had the cut streak record at 25 how badly did you want to take down Tiger’s record with that one I yeah it it frustrates me because you know where it you know where I missed my cut was at Travelers Travelers it was Travelers it was literally at Travelers and like Travelers has just haunted me the past few years like I love the event and I love the course but like I have just not played well and I’m not going to name the player but there’s a player that joined me on the practice round so I’m curious if he ever listens to this podcast if he’s going to remember this um and I was playing great I mean I had just come off I think I lost in a playoff at Colonial so this is like right after covid playing good and this player comes up to me and he starts talking about the golf swing and I’m playing this practice round and he starts I’m not blaming it on this player but like we go to this we have like two holes left and he’s like talking to me and he’s like telling me how to hit cuts and I’m like well me like I think I know how to hit my cuts I mean I’ve been doing it for my you know since college and I’m like all right so whatever uh so we missed the cut and I’m just like so bummed because like you said like it’s so hard to get to any tiger record so when you get close it’s like man like you know this is the best thing ever uh it all worked out because I think I missed a cut and then I won the next week so now I think whenever I miss a cut I’m going to win the next week hasn’t played out exactly like that but you know it’s a good it’s a good like thought to have yeah when we finish up this conversation I got three names that just came to my mind on who that I think I think I have the guy and I don’t think he’s been on this podcast I I I can bet I not that I’ve listened to a lot of episodes I can bet that he’s not been on the podcast so that I know he is I know it is I just have such there’s no way you know who it is there’s no way I got it I’ll ask you after I’ll ask you after comment in the uh in the YouTube comment section if you think you know who it is so um all right so we’re in 2019 you get your PGA Tour card and in 2020 what do you know covid strikes us and then we show up at TPC Harding Park at a PGA Championship and your expectations going into that week were were what this is my second major um the week before was the WGC in Memphis we have our first playoff event final round of that event this is all leading up to PGA final round of that event we changed something in my putting stroke we we kind of changed just kind of the weight of like my balance like I felt like I was leaning back so I kind of moved a little bit weight forward oh wow put it all right that Sunday so I show up and I was the most relaxed I’ve ever been showing up to any golf tournament partially because I had played there like people said like oh you’ve played there 100 times i’ played there maybe 10 times i’ played Harding like 10 times in college I knew what it was like but I just knew the city CU like we’d go in the city we’d play Lake Merced we play Cal Club um and we’d play all these golf SF golf club like some of the best courses in in San Francisco we’d play so like I knew every road I knew every highway I knew how to get there and I just remember showing up on a Monday I was like why is everyone so tense like there’s zero fans there’s no one there it felt super relaxed and and everyone just felt so tense but like that’s what a major is I felt really tense at Pebble which was my first major in 19 but that’s CU it was like literally my first major yeah at this point now and there’s tons of people and there’s tons of people it’s like you’re at Pebble Beach it’s the nicest place in the world um and now I’m showing up to a Harding Park where you know in my opinion it was like it was not one of my favorites in the city it was kind of just like it was there and I was like I don’t know what everyone stress about so the most stressful thing for me was at that point obviously Ryder Cup um was it Ryder Cup yeah 20 or in 20 Ridder cup happened in 21 yeah sounds right I think so like at this point like I’m I’m kind of on the radar of you know just getting to know the captains I play a practice round with Steve Stricker um I think Davis love was there and that’s that was like the most stressful part of my week was like playing a practice round with them because I’m like oh like I don’t want to say anything wrong I don’t want to like make myself look like a fool um but it was like I just remember like everyone was like so stressed and I’m like is this what major golf is like and I was like can’t be like it seriously cannot be like this and uh I just kind of went about my business like did my practice rounds and you know obviously it all worked out but on Sunday on the first te JJ told me this story how did they announce your name uh shoot they I want to say they said like Colin Mory Kama Colin Mory Kama I think is how they did it and I I love it because like I I think at least twice a week like they either get my city wrong or they get my name wrong and I’m like I I just can’t I can’t buy my like I’m gonna change my name I’m Gonna Change it to like three letters first name last name like ABCDEF all right from California that’s it I tell you doing my for this interview Colin I for the entire history of my life of knowing your name I thought you had one L in your name until this is what’s about it smiley I had no idea you had two L’s in Colin yeah I do like I don’t know how to I don’t know how to tell people that I’m not going to tell people I got two L’s but like yeah on me trust me coming this is coming from a guy with the name Smiley so it’s pretty easy SM yeah but nobody can spell it right though so that’s it’s all good it’s all good but my like my like name I use like everywhere I go is like Kyle I just go everywhere like I just call him as a Kyle I mean they’re not gonna ask yeah they’re not g ask you how to spell Kyle mine’s Carter because that’s my first name so any anywhere I go is Carter even at LSU I went by Carter at all my classes because I didn’t know anybody and the last thing I would have to do is explain my name smiling because every everybody back home in birmingham’s like oh yeah smile we know the name we know you forever go to Baton Rouge and it’s like okay okay were your parents hippies you got this name something doesn’t sound right come on I can’t imagine that there’s been any other major Champion that has had their name pronounced incorrectly on the first te on a Sunday so you got that going for I’ve I mean I’ve gotten call Montgomery we’ve gotten yeah we get it we got it all but it’s brutal uh was that was that drive on the 16th whole Colin was where did he rank that as far as just most clutch shots you’ve hit in your career uh number one it’s number one I mean it’s yeah it’s my first major championship I’m tied for the lead Paul Casey just made birdie and I I mean yeah like I can’t I I can’t put anything above it because like it literally set me up to win the to win the major like it was a 70th hole of our tournament I like for me I had to make the putt so to me the putt is just as equal as the shot but obviously shots going what’s going to get the credit um so yeah I mean it’s it’s it’s definitely up there and I think it’ll be up there for for a long long time yeah and you chipped in at the 14th hole too it’s was going back and looking at highlights I I think everybody remembers the drive at 16 but the chip in at 14 got you in a position to be able to make that eagle and kind of run away with it at 18 and and when you hit it left on that 18th hole that second shot I’m thinking oh God so far left and it lands like 6 feet left of the P like this guy has totally different misses than I do we well no I was aiming so far right I was I was a n I think it was a nine hours like a chunk pull thankfully like that that was still a straight ball at the time um and trust me I was so relieved to see that ball land over the pin like oh it was not a shot you want to hit and then it all worked out than like I mean I literally had to hit the putt like this far and then the putt made the way to the hole and I was like okay we’re good well one year later Open championship in 2021 he battled it out with Jordan speed at that one uh Royal St George’s club uh JJ told me a pretty good story about the fifth hole about how it kind of maybe fired you up to uh to propel you to have a really good week yeah like I don’t mind talking to the golf ball and stuff but I was I was on like tilt so this was Saturday obviously we’re uh we’re near the lead whether we’re in the final group or the second to final group second to last group um I’m I’m like one over through four and we go to five I mean it’s a five L off the te like very basic I hit a shot looks good in the air JJ’s like oh great shot and the ball not even to its apex and I’m like oh boy here we go I’m watching it the wind’s taking it it’s it’s falling left it’s falling left and it ends up right on the lip of a bunker and those bunkers are crazy out there that week right yeah exactly I mean there it’s like there’s a lot of Fescue around him and and all these bunkers like if you’re on the lip of a bunker on an Open Championship like you’re not gonna have a stance we’re walking up and I see the ball and I’m just like or this is stupid like you just talk to my ball and my ball just ended up up on the lip of a bunker like so I I look at him I’m I’m so pissed I almost hit my next shot OB I chip up make bogey I hit a pitching wedge on the next part three and I’m just absolutely losing it and I’m like you cannot talk to my golf ball like this you just no more talking my golf ball and he’s like he’s like I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m like like no no no like and and I hate this is like the only time I’ve ever got mad at him because like to me it’s it’s never it’s never really the cat’s fault like I like people are going to make make mistakes like yes he’s like he’s what we’ve added numbers wrong but at the end of the day like I’m the one that needs a double check everything so I hate when he apologizes but like I needed him to apologize for me to get over myself and at that point we played like a near Flawless uh you know 27 holes let’s call it from that on but like I was so mad at him talking to my golf ball that now anytime he talks to my golf ball and it goes wrong like I think both of us go back to that moment and we’re like yeah we just can’t talk to the golf ball anymore like it it just can’t like we’ll joke about it now but like it’s you know seriously like at that at that moment I was like ready to rip off heads I was I was oh God and it’s so relatable any any any golfer knows that when a player in their group says good shot or their ball is right getting close to the hole and it lips out Charlie Hume my co-host and producer on this is probably the worst of doing this and and I just like just like stop don’t you don’t you don’t you say anything and I think it’s the worst like on the putting green like if you’re playing with your buddies and they’re like oh nice putt it’s going in like oh good birdie and you’re like it’s not it’s not in it’s not in you shut up it’s not in you shut your mouth yeah and like you yeah it has to be up there with one of the worst feelings and like one of the wor like the most messed up things to say to your partner of just saying like oh good drive or like you know like you’re thinking oh maybe the ball’s in the water or the OB and you’re like no no no it’s fine and they like have no clue where it is just like you’re on full it’s it’s a uh it’s always a tough scene when that happens it’s a very tough scene tough scene for JJ at the fifth hole at Royal so Royal St George’s club and it all it did work out and and that’s kind of where I want to take you to next is you know leaving the Open Championship in 2021 you have got to feel like you’re on top of the world you know you just you’ve already won two major championships and you have to think to yourself what’s next what can I bre what records can I break you know I I just can’t imagine how much confidence that that is that you probably had leaving that Open Championship that led us into a 2022 that I’m sure was a very frustrating year for you yeah um I mean golf was simple like I knew where the ball was going I I didn’t have to sit on the Range and try and figure things out um I go in later that fall I win the race to Dubai and win the DP World Championship over there um at that point exactly and at that point like golf is feeling easy is not the right word but just you’re getting every break that you asked for right like as a golfer like when you’re playing well you get all the breaks you think you’re lucky and you know some of the best players like like you just the good players are lucky but that’s just how things are going you know you might hit it way offline and hits a tree and you’re in the middle of Fairway and you know I’m going to fast forward so we’ll go a month later and we go to Tigers event and I think this is where not the Tigers event bothered me but this is where it all kind of started to just not go my way and you know I think I had a five shot lead going to the final round if I win that day I think we become number one in the world um lose the lose lose the lead Victor ends up winning um and at that point I’m like man like yes bad rounds happen leads like that you don’t often get a lead like that and then give it away and at that point I was like okay whatever it’s been a long season everything still feels good whatever show to 22 I think we have an okay finish at Hawaii and then I go over to Dubai and this is where this is where all the nightmare fuel all the night you know just the whole thing goes abrupt um go to Dubai feeling a little weird feeling a little sick nothing’s feeling right play Obby the first week go to Dubai and I just we’re on the Range and I’m just don’t know where the ball is going and this is kind of where I think I went down the wrong path of like trying to figure it out instead of just saying let’s get the body right let’s just let it all heal um I come back the next week I have Rick my coach come out and we are just grinding on the Range going through these new Fields going through things that we’ve never done and the problem with me as a as a student and as someone that wants to perfect it is and and the two coach and the two coaches I’ve worked with right Rick cessing house and Mark Blackburn they will vouge for this and I know for sure JJ will vouge anyone that knows me really well will vouch for this if they bring something up and they just have an idea I will go down this Rabbit Hole of coming up with 50 other things and feels that I will just say oh I think this feels right let me just try this and then I’ll ask a question I’ll be like well what what does this do and like but what if I have my hands here or what if what if I feel this well how about if I clear my lower body and and try with pressure here and that is my worst Nemesis and that’s the path I started going down in 22 early in 22 was I started to try these new feels that I’ve never done in my life ever and sometimes you have to well so the problem with when I was in uh Dubai was I I felt I was coming over the top like I was just pulling it hard over the top and that’s like that’s fine like I’ve I’ve come over the top and I’ve pulled it left and hit these wipy cuts and that that was kind of my bad thing but I just felt like anything I did nothing dropped the club I I couldn’t shallow it and like for me I I couldn’t like couldn’t get the club to just be in the slot and just kind of turn like for me that’s what I need I can just hold my wrist conditions and turn and from there like I started going down these fields of where like I felt my hands drop and I stopped my lower body and then you know later that summer US Open I started playing draws so for me it was it was a nightmare cuz my body wasn’t moving and then I started using my hands even more and it was just and then I think at that point you know you go in three four months five months of doing it you just build in these patterns and you forget and that’s what sucks about golf is like you forget what you did for so long it’s still in there but you have to remember you have to just find those feels again and I was so far out of that that um I mean I spent I think in 2022 to 2023 I’ve spent more hours on the Range in those two years or let’s call it a year and a half than I did definitely than I did my entire college career and definitely within a span of five years before that like I have I’ve never spent that much time on the Range and like it sucked it literally sucked but I’m glad I’m I’m kind of working myself out of that now it’s it’s so funny you say all that because for golfers we play our best when we can get away from the game and you can turn your brain off when you just have that confidence of being able to go on a vacation for for two weeks or whatever just take get away from the game and come back and know you know what your ingredients are you know exactly what you need to work on and that’s how you’re able to work plans and be able to improve and get better and like you were just talking about it’s so hard to show up week to week in pound balls and pound balls and what ends up happening is your body isn’t working as well and then these fields that you think might work you have to work on them so hard to get have you any chance because they’re just Band-Aids um basically what they are yeah no it’s like and that’s what it was like it was it was a week to week Band-Aid it was a prayer to I mean even like you go back to last year like uh even as recent as like Detroit like Detroit’s happening right now right I spent that Monday I spent four hours on the Range trying to find a feel so I could use for that week yeah it didn’t last the next week like it was just a one we thing and that’s like What’s So Scary About golf is that when you don’t have it these band these these feels are just like yeah they’re so so short but that’s I mean that’s our sport yeah and in 2022 as well so what’s let’s remember all the things that we just talk about the full swing that you’re working on all these fields and what people don’t realize that surprised me is is that in 2019 2020 2021 your putting stats you were never in the top one 125 in putting and you never had a putting coach or at least hired a fulltime putting coach for sure not 2022 you hired Stephen Sweeney so on top of all the stuff that you’re doing on the Range hitting all these golf balls now you have a a putting coach to help you try to improve your putting as well so I imagined it that you just had a lot going on in that 2022 and 23 but Sweeny really you out from from looking at your statistics the way has been amazing so that was the end of 22 when I was like screw the screw the golf swing let’s just work on putting and let’s just let’s get this sorted out and that’s what’s tough is like you work on one thing that you neglect the you neglect the others sorry I got my landscapers here hopefully that doesn’t ruin this um that you have like you have certain things to focus on you can’t focus on every aspect of the golf game unless everything’s working you’re like okay let me just let me chisel at it and I think that what I’ve learned about golf is like it’s all about just chiseling a little bit a little bit a little bit versus trying to just throw the biggest load and saying okay I’m gonna just absolutely do this because all of our golf games are good enough to be out here like they truly are but then we all go down these paths so um Sweeney has been amazing just because I Now understand what I need to do and what works for me and I Don’t Stray away and when I do I know what things to go back to like just simple mirror putting drills speed drills little competitions I do um and that like the confidence is just so much higher I’m still looking for those hot streaks that obviously early on in my career I had a handful of those to be able to win um but now it’s way more consistent to where like if my hitting is not as good like we’re not you know we’re not way off the planet like I can still kind of make do and that’s like one of the biggest things anything from a technical aspect that that he saw with your putting stroke that y’all fix and right off the get going 22 the biggest the biggest thing for me was Tempo so you look at a lot of tempo I think if you look at like look at Harding Park for example where I won and then you look at like a today stroke Harding Park was very short back super accelerated through really hard hit now it’s kind of the opposite is like I’ll have a longer backstroke and not necessarily decelerate but just let the putterhead fall y um and just let it hit and like from there you know on a sliding downhill putt I don’t feel like I’m I’m I’m like shoving the putt I feel like I’m actually just letting the putter go um that was like the biggest thing that’s still something we work on Tempo um but you see so many people shove it not that you can’t putt like that but I don’t think you want to have it like super short and just like absolutely jam it at the hole like I don’t think you ever see good Putters like that no and what it does too it matches your full swing your your full swing Tendencies for you you have such good Tempo on the way back it’s slow it’s long you know you’re never in a rush so it it matches up more that long flowy backstroke with the putter because it it matches kind of what you do with your full swing you see that a lot up and down the board with PJ tour players that have short games that kind of mimic their full swings whether it’s Tempo or just maybe some technical things well just look I mean if you could exactly if you can have your entire golf game from like t- shots to putting look like you’re the same person then I think I think that’s how you put a complete player right and it’s like well how do you do that and it’s so hard to do it like now that now I’m making now I’m thinking about like like what does it look like I feel like my bunker game’s different than my shipping than my actual shot everything’s good trust me trust me I’m not I’m not letting get down a rabbit hole on Smiley Show um but yeah that’s like when you look at some of the best players like I love Jordan like everything’s kind of that same Rhythm the swing looks similar to the chips and just how he drives it and then the putts are similar with the little forward press like it all matches and that’s what’s really cool when you see some of these players everyone’s different but when it matches like that’s when you start playing really well yeah totally and you mentioned that you went and saw Mark Blackburn uh this would have been last fall and you won at the Zozo championship in Japan and I think a lot of people forget about that cuz it was in the middle of the night over here in the States but you did win with Mark Blackburn and I’m curious just from what you’ve learned about yourself about maybe some technical things that you may have picked up from Mark in the way he coached you that you were able to take back to Rick and be able to have the ingredients and just the the confidence that you kind of know what direction you want to go with your stuff yeah uh look Mark was this well my second essentially ever coach in the past you know since high school like since junior golf he was the second ever person I’ve ever really talked to about the golf swing we won our first week uh working together it was yeah literally he came out to Vegas about a week and a half I left before Japan and then I go to Japan and we win and I’m like I’m like I’m back I’m like no nothing’s stopping me like nothing is stopping me I mean I Ryder Cup I played some awful Golf and I hate it because like that’s when you want to play your best golf is you’re wearing the red white and blue you want to show up and I got absolutely whooped by Victor that final that singles day and at that point I was like he was he he was and I knew I had to play really good but like I had no chance like I I I the golf I played that day was just horrible and when I woned in Japan I was like I don’t think I could lose this like I I don’t think what I just did will ever go away and I I think I could repeat this every day that’s what we all believe you know it just it feels that easy some days and it’s not the others um the biggest thing I learned from Mark and and Mark I love him uh Mark I hope you listen to this because we we still I still owe you a pick aall match I think I can beat you um Mark is so smart I mean you know him right like Mar he’s incredible he’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met that knows the golf swing that understands the golf swing that knows cause and effects match ups and it’s impressive that’s like that’s what I needed and at that point you know because Rick and I what Rick and I do really well is we talked through the fields he’s big on the mental side but we talk through the fields and we kind of go through that stuff um and you know through 22 23 I kind of hit a point where I was like we don’t have the answers I don’t have the answers I didn’t have what I was looking for and I was frustrated through that year and a half that I needed this reset and you know with Mark what I whenever I asked for something he always had an answer and if it didn’t work we always tried something new and that’s what I needed but I realized through this little period of kind of going from the fall of 23 beginning of 24 this year kind of going through you know Bay Hill I missed a cut uh we go to players I’m searching I have no clue what to do um and this early few months of of the Year nothing was kind of going where I wanted um that I kind of got to a point of saying look I have all the answers cuz has all the answers but it’s still not coming through like something still not putting from the range to the golf course being able to put together the shots so you know I I end the relationship with Mark and I will ever be grateful for that because one he gave me the knowledge that I’ve never had so I Now understand the golf swing just from a cause and effect this versus that you know you move something here this is is where the club’s going to go this is where the hands are going to go that’s stuff that like you know you just dive a little bit deeper into golf like you start to understand um but the biggest thing that I think I’ve even learned personally that you know I don’t think even Mark told me or Rick told me or anyone’s told me that I just kind of figured out was it doesn’t matter all these feels learn and and for me what I told Mark and Rick through all this process of when I was not hitting the ball well was like I don’t know where the golf club is which which means I don’t know where the golf where the face is in relation to where my hands and body are I didn’t know if it was closed I didn’t know where it was open I didn’t know where the ball was so what I’ve done and I think why I’m hitting the ball a little bit better I wouldn’t say it’s like amazing but it’s definitely not where I was earlier this year a year ago two years ago was I have now matched and figured out where the club face was yeah and it’s it’s so hard to do but I started just messing around and saying okay I’m going to start I’m going to start this ball and put it on the toe and just find the center of the face and learn how to hit the center of the face you know I’ve talked to Tiger I was like you know this was a few years ago when he was when Charlie was just getting in Charlie’s kid and not that I’ve ever met Charlie but he’s like yeah all I’m just telling him to do is like you can swing as hard as you want but you just need to find the center of the face if you can find the center of the face you can do whatever you want with your golf swing but the best players always come back to impact and they’re hitting the center of the face they wear out that spot and I started just screwing around with like almost setting the club where the ball wasn’t on the face and finding how to hit the center and then starting it on the heel like you know I watched seah the G or sah does the dude sets it on the hle he sets it on the huzzle and I’m like this is like night this is scary but if you know how to move your hands and find it at the center of the face you can screw around and have fun like that and that kind of got me the feels of like okay it’s learning where my hands are going to be in relation to space as I’m coming through impact and finding the center of the face and that has been the one of the biggest things that I’ve learned is like doesn’t matter how you swing doesn’t matter what the fs are at the top of the back swing those are all Band-Aids but at the end of the day the best players find the center of the face they know where the face is and you can either hold it off let let the club release whatever it is that’s like that was the the key for me um there’s obviously a lot more to it but for you know people listening like just learn how to hit the center of the face it doesn’t matter what it looks like learn how to hit the center of the face and you will see like you’ll see a repetitive motion you’ll see a repetitive shot if you find the center of the face people just don’t find the center of the face yeah preaching to the choir over here as as you and I were texting to set up this uh this amazing conversation this far I I said you know what I’m playing Friday afternoon and I’m scheduled to play Saturday morning but there’s a chance I don’t play Saturday morning if I decide to give the game up and you’re like no you’re going to play Saturday you’re going to play there’s no there’s no way you don’t it’s just CU if it doesn’t go well today you’re going to just try something new and it’s like that’s why golf is amazing like you can always try something new every day and there’s a million things you can try you know like i’ I’ve been you know I look on Instagram and Twitter and you see s Garder right he’s like picking up the game you see that yeah yeah and like he’s like yeah I’m just been watching a bunch of YouTubes I’m like buddy wait till you talk to like five golfers you’re going to have 50 million things to try and you’re gonna be you’re gonna be screwed like there is something about being just you know ignorant about the entire golf game and you just go out and hit the ball but like that’s as simple it’s like oh what do you do I hit a golf ball that doesn’t I hit a ball that doesn’t move all right it can’t be that hard you know Well w welcome sauce one of us come on buddy one of us yes come on water’s great could Jump On In buddy yeah just like you know it’s it’s just like golf cult that you’re just going to go down this rabbit hole and it’s just gonna kind of spiral into this million million thought process of how do I hit this golf ball welcome all right man what’s wrap up with 2024 and I just want to kind of run through just what you’ve been able to accomplish really since you know post Valero uh you finish third at the Masters let’s go through your Majors you finish fourth the PGA 14th at the US Open you’re on a streak of eight straight top 16s and in stroke play events without a partner so we’re going to we’re going to put the Zurich Char grilled oysters my Zur my Zurich record is not too good if anyone I’m looking for a partner Kurt maybe you come back but done I get you in I’m a Zer I’m a Zer guy I get you in I mean my my best finish was this year it was a T28 whatever it was there you go my best finish ever so I got some work to do start practicing smiley yeah okay I got you I’ll let you know I play today but anyways five top 10 I mean in a row I mean you’re just you’re in a really good spot as far as just how well you’ve been able to just put rounds together man this year it’s been really fun to watch and it’s been so impressive and for like the longest time I think I was just I was just waiting to see all right is is he gonna be is he G able to keep that consistency up and that every single week man I just look at your stats and the putting to me is what seemed like got you over the hump early in the spring that kind of allowed your ball striking to kind of come into form where I noticed that you just had these great putting rounds and it set you up to have really nice weeks do you feel like that’s kind of how your year is kind of gone in 2024 where the ball striking is now kind of there a little bit I mean when you’re putting well it takes the stress off hitting it really close but the problem is like if you’re going to contend in these tournaments you got to make birdies you got to hit it closer right and knowing what I’ve done in the past it’s like okay I still put an emphasis on my Approach shots um putting definitely got me over I mean I putted I think really really well at Augusta yes and for me those are some of my favorite greens to putt on because you take out all the analytical stuff it is just High Line drip speed how do I make this uh you know and using exactly and it’s like you have to do that stuff and that’s like it always frees me up when I go over there and like whether I putt well or I play well it’s fun to putt out there because it’s just you got to be creative yeah and for me I think when I go back you know you started austa I think with the irons I started to see shots where I could swing free and not only just swing free and it’s not like this Carefree where you don’t care where the ball goes I still want the ball to go where I want but I trusted that my good shots were going to be good and my misses were going to be okay and and that’s the worst is when you think your misses are going to be really really bad and you don’t know where it’s going to go well that’s where your ball’s going to go and you know we found a swing thought at Augusta we kept trying that and I would say this past kind of month and a half two months maybe after Zurich is where I kind of came together and and had this another swing thought this other feel and it’s allowed me to just swing it and now when I miss the shot and I miss it just say left I hate missing it left but when I do miss it left I know the answer it’s just like putting you know if I hit a bad putt I’m like I know what I did or at least I know I know the two things that I did so I’m at that point now where I’m hitting the ball and if I hit a bad shot I know what it is versus me saying maybe it was this or maybe I could have done this maybe it was that the maybe is what scares you and I’m at this point now where it’s not about the May it’s just more about did I execute or not like how many times can I repeat it and it’s it’s so fun like I mean you know it like it is it’s so fun to play golf like that um but now it’s about closing out tournaments you know it’s about winning how how do I put together four rounds my final rounds haven’t been as good as I’ve wanted um are just solid at all you know and it’s just like how do I put together these rounds and it’s to me it’s just more of a mental thing it’s just more of me kind of going through my business and and bring being as prepared as I am on Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday and just saying okay that’s what I’m gonna do did you uh Bend Tigers here a little bit at the tiger Jam in Vegas uh right before the memorial just about about closing the deal and winning like did you were you able to ask him any questions in regards to that no I should have I’m WR I’m going to write down a list for our tailor matate Sho at the end of the year how how do you got the rest of the guys there I got Scotty I got Rory I got tiger I mean dud I got a great crew to ask on how to win tournaments um no you know I think everyone’s different and I I don’t when I look back at my wins it’s to me winning is not about it’s not about like a oh H how do I do this you know it’s not like oh how do you win like I don’t think anyone can write a book on how to win yeah um I I don’t like there’s no secret but I think when I look back at all of my wins and I look back at the good events there’s a certain thing and a certain trait essentially to how the week kind of goes and that mentality you have at the beginning of a Sunday and just how you go through your prep that is the biggest thing on how you perform well on a Sunday not like oh man this is what I need to do I have to hit this I have to do this it’s just more about the flow of the day and I think it’s just a small little tweak um and then it’s just showing up on Sundays and and just going off you know so hopefully you know this next kind of two months to end the season hopefully I can just kind of go on a little tear um similar to obviously what Scotty’s been doing but to what Victor did last year and just find a groove on putting together four really good rounds of of closing out golf tournaments I mean it is very very close um and it’s not something I need to essentially do in the golf game it’s just more about you know how do I go through my day and just say okay this is what I’m going to do you know maybe I need to have coffee on a Sunday I don’t know yeah come on some coffee yeah so my f my favorite moment for you in 2024 was at Jack’s Place on the 12th hole and you talked about swinging freely and be able to hit shots with confidence everybody knows that that has played in Jack’s event how difficult that Sunday pin is and how firm those greens are and you got up there first you hit a a beautiful looked like a little floaty seven iron 25 ft left of it and of course you’re going up against Scotty Sheffer and and he somehow finds that there’s room between your golf ball and the and you’re just like what what am I supposed to do here but on that walk to the Green in that situation were you telling yourself I’m gonna make this and I’m gonna get myself something to think or for Scotty for something to think about on his his butt that he actually did Miss uh honestly I was just trying to get out there with par um that butt was breaking maybe seven eight feet left right um but like that’s the momentum swings like I’m not trying to just make part I’m obviously trying to make the putt but those are the putts where you’re like if that drops I mean that is so big on my side of momentum and then for him to miss it’s like we we are still very much in this Golf Tournament aall game um back to the ball striking though on that hole like when I’m able to pick up the te and not really watch the ball and just kind of be like oh it’s fine with water bunkers and everything that’s when you know you have full control when you know exactly how it’s spinning when you know how you hit it and you know the ball is going within a window of three yards that’s like that’s full control so that I mean that was definitely the punt of the week um for me that was like okay we’re still in this and like to be honest the way it all played out I think I I made bogey on 16 I was down two with two to go gave me yeah I’m going to bring up JT because that’s exactly what yeah great hole I love it Jack I know you redid it blow it up let’s make a new hole um like I’m sure you listen to podcast all the time but like I think we’re at a point where like no one hits the green um it kind of gave me that like JT workday Vibes that we had during covid where I ended up you know we had that playoff and all that because I was it was in the exact same position I was two down with two to go um against JT I made Birdie on 17 and I made par go to playoff this one I make a five-footer for par Scotty makes bogey on 17 and then on 18 like honestly I thought I thought I made it like I thought I at least gave myself a chance and it didn’t go in but um you know it’s just one of those courses where I’ve played well I’ve had good finishes I mean I think I missed the cut a few years ago but it’s like you show up and you think you can birdie every hole and um yeah it’s the risk reward on that place is is if you pull off the shots you get good birdie looks but you have six Footers that break two feet so you got it’s a little bit like a gusa like you talked about so yeah uh super sweet golf course and the The Travelers real quick because I I’d be remissed not to ask you this question how do you hit a a shot from 60 yards and really low make the ball and make the ball stop on on top of a car because as as you saw that I commented on your Instagram and said you’re a wizard Colin and I hope you read it in in Haggard’s voice uh I did uh you know I all the conditions were were with me it was a perfect Dow grain lie I mean I was pitching into an UPS slope um it’s a fun shot yeah it’s a fun shot when you pull it off and like you know I pull it if I pull it even like four you know three yards left of that it’s in the water um I don’t know I there’s there’s a lot there’s a lot of movement I for me you know I lean back a lot on my chip shots that’s one you cannot lean back like you know I work on just kind of keeping my head forward and keeping it centered and all that stuff um that’s just a shot that I think only professionals can pull off and like really good really really good you know golfers that play every day like I don’t think I don’t think you could teach that specific shot to an Amer like you can teach him how to spin the shot but I don’t think you’re creating that spin for an Amer golfer like it it was sick it’s like the coolest video ever it like I I’ve honestly I’ve watched it since I’ve gotten home I’ve watched it at least 20 times and I’m like [ __ ] this was good sick this was amazing between that and the picture of you almost shipping in Behind the Green at 18 with the they they shot it from the front it just was I mean you got it’s got to be your new profile pick by the way that’s yeah maybe I’ll move it maybe I’ll move it I’ll check I’ll change it just for you need some different Mojo well what’s the rest of the year we got so are we doing Scottish open or is that the next two Scottish open week off and Olympics and then we’re and then we’re off to playoffs so we got a big we got a big stretch yeah I’m I’m very very happy I’m it’s an honor um I added two events this year just to see if I can give myself a chance to make the Olympics um you know you go back all the way to Bay Hill I think if you look at my World Golf Ranking and you look at where I was in those standings I was just nowhere to be seen um but it’s been a nice stretch and that’s you know like I I wanted to make a push forward and I’m super super happy to be a part of that team that’s a hell of an accomplishment and if if I recall the last Olympics you were in a seven way tie for third and uh try to get that bronze metal what a weird deal seven guys for for One Medal it’s just used what makes it worse is that I made it all the way it was like down it was me and CT pan like I wear the last two guys and I plug it in the bunker I make Bogey and I’m like that’s how I lose like I I grinded out 72 holes two three extra playoff holes to lose because I plugged in the bunker hit a bunker shot and I make bogey like that terrible terrible way so hopefully we can do a little bit better all that man well this has been a great conversation Colin I I appreciate you coming on uh we’ll be cheering for you to try to get your second Open Championship uh we’ll see you through the playoffs and maybe you’ll come join us on happy hour at some point in one of these events because I’d love to have you call some golf with me because you’re your golf knowledge is great would love to hear you just uh maybe just roast maxom when he’s playing golf because he does roasting so so hard to do though Max is such a good guy like Max never says a bad thing about me or maybe he does and I just don’t hear it but I like it’s hard for me to say anything bad about Max because I think Max is one of the best people that I know and I’m very lucky to have him and you know my close friend so um but I’ll try I’ll try we’ll see good stuff buddy man I appreciate it thanks for coming on I mean it’s it’s 8 it’s 800 a.m in Vegas there’s only where are you head are you gonna play some golf I’m gonna go yeah I’m gonna go I’ll probably go practice a little bit early I mean Summit is as com you know you you know the Discovery life yeah you know I should have wor my Summit hat could match it’s pretty good it’s all right it’s all right I think the people should uh the people should put a line on what you need to shoot to to have a chance to be my Zerg partner so we’ll set it I mean for two days I don’t know where you’re playing we set it like seven under I think that’s a fair number that’s a fair number two day total s00 to have a chance I think that’s actually right where it should be cuz if if things go like I think it will go today I think I’m going to have to grind grind grind for a 200 part 70 like I think it’s G to be some hard work but when you haven’t played in three weeks you know how it goes like you just need to play that one round if I can just sneak it under par and then tomorrow maybe uh maybe I’ll take it deep so who knows not not too many drinks on the course today all right this is this is like yeah yeah this your draft this is your draft day even if I don’t I’m just going to keep moving the goalpost uh throughout the year until eventually until eventually I’m just carrying your bag in the proam no you don’t it’s an 18 old P I don’t think you you don’t want that one you don’t want that one to oh man good stuff Colin thanks for coming on we’ll be cheering for you buddy see you appreciate it man you know I listen to this podcast it’s really cool and all of our fans and subscribers but make sure you like And subscribe it’s cool to see what you guys are doing I know golf fans appreciate it but we we do too so please keep it up for all the good people YouTube like And subscribe you guys have some good takes so I’m happy to come on and and shoot the