Before they turned pro: Collin Morikawa
We've seen that winning smile a lot over the years (Cal-Berkeley Athletics photo)
Talk about a meteoric rise -- in the history of golf, no one has won two majors quicker than
Collin Morikawa. The former Cal-Berkeley All-American and native of La Cañada Flintridge, Calif., has now won PGA and British Open in a mere eight major starts. He is also the first player ever to win two different majors in his first attempt.
It's a trajectory that we couldn't have expected, even as we watched Morikawa win some of the most prestigious amateur majors in the
Sunnehanna,
Northeast, and
Trans-Mississippi Amateurs. We watched him win five college tournaments for Cal and help the U.S. win a Walker Cup and two Palmer Cups. His professional debut was a clue about what lay ahead -- as a 19-year-old, he
nearly won the Web.com (now known as the Korn Ferry) Tour Air Capital Classic, falling in a playoff.
But while it was enjoyable to cover Collin's ascent through the amateur ranks, it was a special privilege to watch and interact with him up close. As a member of AmateurGolf.com (AG), he twice played in the AG Silicon Valley Amateur,
winning by three shots in 2016.
We kept a nice collection of his golf swings on our YouTube account - check it out below:
Here are a few of the stories from our coverage of Collin Morikawa the amateur: