"It's been frustrating but I truly love it" - Collin Morikawa opens up about being in a tight position at the Tour Championship
Collin Morikawa is having a stellar time at the ongoing Tour Championship. He is jointly leading the table with Viktor Hovland after the end of the first 36 holes. The American shot two rounds of 61 and 64 and is at a score of 8 under.
Despite starting his campaign at the East Lake Golf Course with a 1 under advantage, nine strokes behind the top player, Scottie Scheffler, his opening round of 9 under gained him a massive boost for the rest of the tournament.
The PGA Tour shared a video on Twitter which had a video clip of Collin Morikawa's post-round press conference on Friday. In the video, he was heard saying that in spite of being frustrated, he just loved the game of golf. He added that he loved to be in the position he was in after the end of 36 holes.
"I just love golf. I mean, it's been frustrating, but I truly love it. Because when you're in position like this, when you're able to put yourself in contention, whether it's one round or two rounds or four rounds, that I just, I know I love being in these positions," Morikawa said.
Later on, Collin Morikawa emphasized that a lot of golf was still left to be played at the East Lake Golf Course. He continued on highlighting to play aggressively and 'take that heart'. He said:
"I know that there's still 36 holes left to golf and there's a lot of golf left to be played, but being in this position, you know it's, you have to take that heart. You got to take that up front. The best players in the world don't shy away from these moments. You know, we're still tied with the lead."
Collin Morikawa added that there are a lot of players chasing to take the top spot and all they need is to get ready.
"There's a bunch of chasers right there. There's going to be a lot of low scores tomorrow, I promise you that. So we got to get ready. It's not going to be a breeze to just finish this off," Morikawa concluded.
The Open 2021 winner started his Tour Championship campaign with a blistering round of 9 under 61. What's more amazing is that he didn't have a single bogey in his scorecard. He carded seven birdies and snuck in a sensational eagle on the sixth hole.
Collin Morikawa followed his form with another bogey-less second round and carded a 6 under 64. His scorecard was consistent in both the first nine and back nine holes. The 26-year-old sunk six birdies and finally ended up leading the table with Viktor Hovland.
When will Collin Morikawa resume play at the Tour Championship?
The Los Angeles-born golfer is paired with his counterpart on the leaderboard, Viktor Hovland, for the third round at the East Lake Golf Course. The duo are scheduled to tee off at 03:00 p.m. ET.
It is noteworthy that Collin Morikawa has not won a single event on the PGA Tour since winning The Open in 2021. He will not just be eyeing the massive $18 million prize of the Tour Championship, but also his sixth title on the Tour.