Before Thursday’s opening round of the U.S. Open, Collin Morikawa made a “stupid” decision.
On Friday, he smartened up.
The result was an 8-shot improvement. In breezy sunshine at Shinnecock Hills, Morikawa fired a five-under 65, rebounding from a first-round 73 to leapfrog up the leaderboard. He finished the day at two-under for the tournament, in a tie for fourth, with much of the field still on the course.
What accounted for the turnabout?
His wedge. Specifically, the sole.
On Friday afternoon, Morikawa revealed that he’d played his first round with a new wedge — same TaylorMade MG5 60 SC he usually employs, but without the bounce ground off. The move backfired.
“I usually kind of [take] a little bit of the bounce off. Stupid of me to do it,” Morikawa said.
The decision traced back to Monday’s practice round. Shinnecock had taken on rain Sunday night, leaving the course soft and wet for Morikawa’s first look at the setup. Working on chips on the back of the 10th hole, he found himself digging the club into the turf.
A lot of golfers would read that as a reason to add bounce, not remove it, as more bounce helps keep the leading edge from digging into the ground. But Morikawa was playing the long game. He expected the course to firm up considerably by Thursday, and figured the trickier, grainier lies that come with firmer turf would suit a lower-bounce wedge just fine.
“I knew it was going to dry out,” he said. “I felt like it was okay. So I didn’t grind it off.”
He took that new wedge into Thursday’s opening round and his short game wasn’t as sharp as he’d hoped.
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“Just yesterday, average chip shot,” he said. “Partially bad technically, but partially [it] felt like everything was just going to bounce. Out here, you have to just have a great low point. You have to know what the spin is going to be.”
Golf is nothing if not a game of adjustments. After finishing his weather-delayed first round Friday morning, Morikawa undid his decision. Back into his bag went the wedge he’d trusted all season, bounce and all.
“I went back to my old wedge just after I finished up this morning,” he said. “Whether it worked or not, it just gave me enough confidence to say I can kind of dial them in. Felt like I hit a lot better chip shots out there.”
It’s been that kind of season for Morikawa, a campaign marked by changes beyond his control. A back injury sidelined him at the Players in March and kept popping up enough to cost him more starts before the Masters. He’s been managing that issue ever since. On Thursday, though, his body seemed fine. It was his decision-making and his equipment that betrayed him. By Friday, he’d gotten those right, too.
