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The information had not circulated, but Collin Morikawa ended his collaboration with his historic coach just after the Ryder Cup. He established himself with his new coach in their first tournament together, during the Zozo Championship.
No mention on the player’s social networks. No information in the press. It was American journalist Dan Rappaport who revealed the information on November 6. After the Ryder Cup, Collin Morikawa stopped working with his historic coach, Rick Sesshinghaus, after 18 years of collaboration.
The coach shaped the swing of the two-time Major winner from the age of 8.
Collin Morikawa, statements
Mark Blackburn, who takes care of the swing of Max Homa and Justin Rose, became Morikawa’s coach just before the Zozo Championship which allowed the American to end a long period without a victory, he who had not most won since his British Open triumph at Royal St George’s in 2021.
We understand even better the emotion of the 12th player in the world who then said, after winning in Japan: “It’s a very important victory for me, a bit like a victory in a Major after long months of asking myself questions .
» The silence on the separation from a coach who led him to the heights of the game remains no less astonishing. Born in Los Angeles to Debbie and Blaine Morikawa, of Chinese and Japanese origins respectively, he began playing golf at the age of 5.
He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he practiced the sport from 2015 to 2019 before graduating in business administration. In December 2021, Morikawa got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Katherine Zhu.
They got married on November 26, 2022. He turned professional in 2019 by taking part in the Canadian Open, where he placed 14th. In August 2020 he won the PGA Championship at his first attempt, then repeating his success in July 2021 by winning the British Open, again as a rookie.
This made him the first golfer in history to win two majors in his first appearance. The Californian also becomes the seventh golfer since 1900 to win the Open on debut – after Jock Hutchison (1921), Denny Shute (1933), Ben Hogan (1953), Tony Lema (1964), Tom Watson (1975) and Ben Curtis (2003) – as well as setting the new record for strokes on the course at Royal St.
George’s with 265 (the previous record of 267, set in 1993, was set by Greg Norman). In 2021 he took part in the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo, finishing third after the scheduled fourth rounds, but tied with nine other golfers. However, in the playoffs he was overtaken by Pan Cheng-tsung, finishing in fourth place.
