Collin Morikawa completed his opening round at the 90th Masters with a 74 despite anxiety over a recent back injury. The golfer admitted to feeling more nervous than ever before teeing off at Augusta National. He managed birdies amid several bogeys on firm conditions.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Collin Morikawa last swung competitively during a practice shot at the Players Championship last month at TPC Sawgrass. He felt pain in his lower back on the second tee and withdrew, saying, “I can’t swing through it. Trust me, I would play if I could. It’s just the worst thing in the world.” He also scratched from the Valero Texas Open last week, raising doubts about his Masters participation. Morikawa pressed on, noting on Monday that his back felt fine but other body parts were not fully cooperating, limiting his shot variety and requiring a different game plan. He limited practice to chips on Monday and nine holes each on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday morning brought intense nerves, not from the stage—his seventh Masters and 25th major—but from uncertainty about his back. “Never felt this nervous in my life,” he said. “Physically there’s no pain. It’s just a trust thing. My legs don’t want to trust that it’s going to hold up the back and the rest of the body. When that’s feeling wobbly, plus you add the adrenaline and the nerves, it’s not easy.” Morikawa started with six pars before bogeys at the par-4 seventh, where he missed the fairway right and punched into a bunker, and at the ninth, missing the green long and right. His drives lacked power, which he called a “little dink,” but firm conditions helped. On the back nine, birdies at 10 and 13 offset bogeys at 11 and 14, leaving him at 74 and tied for 41st. Post-round, Morikawa cited leg discomfort and trust issues, not muscle loss, slowing his walking pace. “I’m proud of myself the way it kind of played out today,” he said. “I had no clue what I was going to shoot today. Like, I had no idea.”
