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USA Today
07-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Collin Morikawa hires veteran caddie for Genesis Scottish Open, Open Championship
Collin Morikawa will have a veteran caddie on his bag across the pond. Billy Foster will loop for Morikawa, the fifth-ranked golfer in the world, at the Genesis Scottish Open this week and the Open Championship next week at Royal Portrush. first broke the news, with the DP World Tour also sharing video of Morikawa and Foster on the range in Scotland. Morikawa parted ways with J.J. Jakovac, his only caddie in his pro career, in April before having Joe Greiner work for him a couple months. That duo split before the Rocket Classic in Detroit two weeks ago, with Morikawa saying, "just because two people are great at what they do doesn't mean we're going to be great together. I think Joe is an amazing caddie, but I think just the way we kind of saw things or just day-to-day how we kind of went about it, we were just a little bit on a different page. That doesn't mean it's right or wrong, but for me it just didn't feel right." At Detroit Golf Club, Morikawa had former college teammate KK Limbhasut loop for him, with the former Cal Golden Bear placing T-8. Now looping duties go to Foster, the longtime caddie who was on Matt Fitzpatrick's bag when the Englishman won the 2022 U.S. Open. Foster, who has also caddied for Seve Ballesteros, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, split with Fitzpatrick in March after working together for 6 years. Foster told he doesn't envision this turning into a full-time gig, with the constant trips back and forth between Europe and North America "catching up with me" at 59 years old. But at least for two weeks, Foster will be on the bag for one of the best players in the world, with Morikawa searching for his first victory since the 2023 Zozo Championship in Japan.
Newsweek
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
John Deere Classic: Max Homa Comes Painfully Close to Snapping Drought
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Just hours after Michelle Wie West's viral post reminded the world how deeply intertwined mental health and self-worth are with golf scores, Max Homa lived that truth in real-time. The 6-time PGA Tour winner came heartbreakingly close to ending his 18-month drought at the 2025 John Deere Classic, only to watch it slip away in the final stretch. His last win came in 2023 at the Farmers Insurance Open. This week, fans saw Homa claw his way into contention at the John Deere Classic, reminding the world that he is an elite player. After a frustrating season marked by a complete overhaul of his swing and mindset, his missing cuts, and parting ways with his long-time caddie, it seems the 34-year-old is heading in the right direction. SILVIS, ILLINOIS - JULY 05: Max Homa of the United States walks off the second tee during the third round of the John Deere Classic 2025 at TPC Deere Run on July 05, 2025 in... SILVIS, ILLINOIS - JULY 05: Max Homa of the United States walks off the second tee during the third round of the John Deere Classic 2025 at TPC Deere Run on July 05, 2025 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by) More Getty Images Homa's week at TPC Deere Run started on a tear. He opened with a scorching 8-under 63, his lowest round of the season. The 34-year-old stayed in contention with back-to-back 68s for the second and third rounds. But on Sunday, at TPC Deere Run, it was one shot, a pulled drive on the par-4 15th, that flipped the script. His tee shot found the left rough, leading to a bogey that dropped him into a tie. Homa finished at 16-under overall after a final-round 2-under 69 to close the tournament. He settled for a six-way tie for fifth with Matt Kuchar, Lucas Glover, Carson Young, Jacob Bridgeman, and Kurt Kitayama. The former Cal Golden Bear finished one stroke shy of the playoff between Brian Campbell and Emiliano Grillo. Campbell, who won his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Mexico Open in February, claimed his second playoff title at the John Deere Classic. "I like his move... he's got a little cast at the top." -Tiger Woods on Max Homa Enjoy 30 seconds of Homa's golf swing ⬇️ — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 5, 2025 But he isn't going home with nothing. This finish was the fan favorite's first top-10 of the year, and he will take home a solid $344,400 payout from the $8.4 million purse. "I think taking what we've been doing this week and using that to go forward... I plan to be in this position a lot more," Homa said after his round on Saturday. There seems to be no doubt that Homa is coming back into form ahead of the Genesis Scottish Open. More Golf: LIV Player who burned a bridge re-joining PGA Tour at Scottish Open
USA Today
26-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Collin Morikawa ready to blast off at Rocket Classic with new caddie
DETROIT — Collin Morikawa has won two major championships and hit some incredible shots during the first six years of his PGA Tour career, but the one that popped in his head when he was asked to name the best of the bunch happened on the 18th hole at the 2021 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. 'I've watched the shot many times on YouTube because I'm like how do I make it that easy,' he said on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of the Rocket Classic. 'Front left pin, water on the left, had 4-iron I think out of the first cut and I hit it exactly where I wanted. I mean, I could miss it in the water, lose the tournament; hit it in the bunker, not make up and down. It was picture perfect. And it's rare you get to do that, but that's, you know, that's why we keep practicing. Like I'm telling you, it's inches, margins, centimeters, degrees. We're crazy, but we love it.' Morikawa, 28, is searching for that feeling again at Detroit Golf Club, where at No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking he is the top-ranked player in the field at this week's Rocket Classic. Two years ago at this tournament, he posted four rounds of 67 or better and lost a three-man playoff to Rickie Fowler. 'Pretty good memories,' he said of his lone previous appearance at this event. 'I mean, '23 was not a rough year, but at a time where I wasn't playing great, to be able to come out and put together some good golf to then go through the rest of the season and into Playoffs, that's what I'm looking for right now as well.' Morikawa jumped out to a flying start, finishing runner-up at The Sentry and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but victory has remained elusive. He's hit a rut of pedestrian finishes by his high standards, failing to record a top-10 finish since the Players Championship in March, including T-42 last week at the Travelers Championship. Morikawa is trying to shake things up by changing caddies yet again. He parted ways with longtime caddie J.J. Jakovac in April and split with veteran caddie Joe Greiner ahead of his appearance in Motor City after just five events together. 'I think people, they're going to be surprised but the way I put it is just because two people are great at what they do doesn't mean they're going to be great together. I think Joe is an amazing caddie, but…we were just a little bit on a different page,' Morikawa said. 'We spend more time with (our caddie) than anyone else in the world, honestly. I spend more time with them than my wife sometimes. It's a true relationship.' While he said he hasn't determined a long-term replacement yet, Morikawa has his former Cal Golden Bear teammate KK Limbhasut, who competes on the Korn Ferry Tour, filling in on the bag this week. 'I appreciate him doing that and we're going to go out and have a blast,' he said. Much of Morikawa's frustration stems from the glaring absence on his resume this season – a victory. A six-time Tour winner, he's searching for his first title since October 2023. The biggest culprit holding him back? His putter. He ranks 109th in Strokes Gained: Putting and lost more than 8 strokes to the field at the U.S. Open two weeks ago and still more than 2 strokes to the field on the greens at the Travelers Championship. To find an answer for his putting woes, Morikawa delved into the world of high-tech solutions. Equipment site GolfWRX reported that last week that he 'implemented Vertex Golf motion sensors, which are lightweight sensors that attach to the putter shaft to help measure different parameters such as face angle, lie, path, club head speed, and stroke tempo, under the supervision of putting coach Stephen Sweeney.' Fortunately, Morikawa is gaining strokes tee-to-green in 2025 at a clip better than anyone not named Scottie Scheffler and ranks sixth in SG: Approach the Green. And yet the quest continues to dial in his trademark fade a little more. 'You work so hard to make this game so precise,' he said. 'We're talking about 1, 2 degrees that we drive ourselves crazy, but that's what we do. At the core root of it, we're just really good at controlling little, little minute movements throughout our swing and it's finding what works. We're on a good path even though the results haven't shown.'
