‘Sour’ Morikawa rallies US fans as he calls for ‘absolute chaos’ from Bethpage crowd
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Collin Morikawa admitted the US’s defeat in Rome still pains him as he urged the ‘tame’ home crowd to boost his side’s chance of revenge.
When Collin Morikawa shared a beer with his Team Europe counterparts on the Sunday evening after the US team’s comprehensive defeat in Rome two years ago, he wore a smile upon his face. But inside, he was seething, already counting down the days to Bethpage and a chance at redemption.
For long periods of this season, it looked unlikely he would get that shot, his inconsistent form leaving him struggling to qualify as he searched to recapture the game that had seen him lift five PGA Tour titles, including two majors, in little more than two years after turning pro in 2019.
His last victory came just weeks after the defeat in Rome (the first team loss of his amateur or professional career) at the ZOZO Championship. There was plenty to be positive about in 2024 as he knocked on the door at several events and he was the lowest scorer at the 2024 Tour Championship, only for the now-defunct handicap scoring system to deny him the spoils.
But by the 28-year-old’s high standards, 2025 has been a disappointment. He made a fast start, only denied victory at The Sentry by a record-breaking Hideki Matsuyama, before losing a three-shot lead late in the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to allow US teammate Russell Henley to steal in to take the title and give his own Ryder Cup hopes a huge boost.
Since then, Morikawa has managed two top-10s in 15 starts and has had five different caddies on the bag as he looks to find a winning formula. Despite that, US captain Keegan Bradley saw enough to hand the 28-year-old a pick for his third Ryder Cup appearance, and that shot at redemption he so desires.
“There was a sour taste leaving Rome,” the Californian revealed at Bethpage. “I think that was my first team loss that I’ve ever had since even amateur golf and junior golf. So it felt really weird. Like it wasn’t an okay feeling. You know, yeah, we’re all out there drinking, having fun on Sunday night, but it just didn’t feel right. We had a job and a goal to accomplish that week, and we just didn’t pull through. We weren’t hitting the shots. We weren’t making the putts, and when you’re on an away stage like that, you have to step up a little bit more.
“For the past couple years, I wouldn’t say it’s haunted me, but it definitely woke me up when I was, you know, on the verge of making this team to make sure I could give everything I could. I’ve had four weeks, essentially, since I’ve been on this team and a lot of time to think about what I need to do and what I need to bring to this week.”
Ultimately, what he and all of his teammates need to bring is a fast start and early points on the board. Teams that fall behind in a Ryder Cup rarely come back, and Morikawa is confident he’s found what he needs to play a key role in doing that.
“So far this week, I’ve hit the ball actually probably better than I have – statistically, I know my numbers ball-striking-wise look good, but it’s a confidence thing.
“I think these weeks just pull out the best in you. Especially when you have a home crowd like this and people are cheering you on and you want to just hit great shots, sometimes your focus gets that much more intentional. And when intentions match kind of what you’re trying to accomplish, it sometimes comes together. So these weeks are a moment for that, and you want to step up to the plate and you don’t want to let not just the team down but the rest of the country, essentially, that are rooting you on.”
There has been plenty of talk in the build-up to the biennial match that the New York fans could cross a line. And while his US counterparts have played that down, Morikawa has encouraged them to give it their all as he looks to take full advantage of the 13th man.
Earlier, New Yorker Cam Young had praised the Bethpage crowds and been in awe at their size so early in the week (“it’s about the most people I’ve ever seen out on a golf course”), but Morikawa wants more from his countrymen.
“I’ll be honest, I think it’s kind of tame so far,” Morikawa smiled. “I know tomorrow is going to be pretty bad but I hope Friday is just absolute chaos. I’m all for it. I think it feeds into who we are and the American players and the American team. We want it. Like we want to use that to our advantage.
“I think every sport uses their home crowd to their advantage, and just because we don’t play in a setting like this doesn’t mean the craziness of New York and the rest of the country that people are traveling in from, it doesn’t mean that we can’t use that to our advantage. I think we really have to tap into that. I hope they come strong.”
And Morikawa knows exactly which unexpected source he wants to help bring that noise… the aforementioned, and seemingly un-New-York-like, Cameron Young.
“I would love to see Cam just throw a massive fist pump in someone’s face. I would love it,” he beamed. “I mean, home state, home crowd, red, white and blue, played on the Junior Ryder Cup. He’s a fiery competitor. I’ve known Cam for a long time. He’s been very stoic, right. We’re deep competitors. Whether you see that or not through the TV or through watching us play, he wants to whoop some butt. Yeah, I would love to see a nice little putter raise, undercut, fist-pump. So I’m hoping. Fingers crossed. That’s my forecast.”
While the crowds will inevitably form talking points over the weekend, the subject of the US players being paid to compete in this year’s Ryder Cup has dominated the start of the week and Morikawa didn’t shy away from the topic.
“Look, I think Keegan and the PGA of America have fought in certain ways just to, you know, whether it’s a thank you or – look, I think the PGA of America and whoever is making a lot of money from The Ryder Cup, right, is – they are making a lot of money,” he explained. “And I think on that end, it’s just to give us an opportunity to either pay our respective teams, because look, the teams behind us, they don’t get the recognition that we do, but they deserve a lot of it that we get. But also just to give back to our own communities, right. We have a lot of communities back home that sometimes don’t get the recognition, that don’t get the word-of-mouth just because we don’t travel to those places that the PGA TOUR stops on every week. Just more opportunities, I think, for us to help out people that we care about.”
But is the $200,000 each of the US players will receive suitable compensation in their eyes?
“Don’t trap me in a corner,” Morikawa laughed, when the question was asked. “There’s no number. It could be zero. It could be one dollar. It could be – there isn’t a right or a wrong amount. Look, I think at the end of the day, all 12 of us here playing when we tee it up on Friday, and before this all started, we just want to win the Ryder Cup. We want to win it for ourselves. We want to win it for our country.
“When we stood out there two days ago and we got speeches from the Nassau Players Club and we got speeches from the firefighter and his son, look, I’m not an emotional guy, but like there were emotions. And sometimes it just hits home. When you hear that type of stuff and you’re able to bring out that emotion, just being able to represent a country, you want to step on that first tee and put points on the board. That’s all I’m going to remember.”
If those points total 14.5 or more come Sunday night, the Morikawa will also remember Bethpage far more fondly than Rome.
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Collin Morikawa smiles as he makes his way through the hoards of home fans at the Ryder Cup in New York.
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New Yorker Cameron Young signs autographs for his home fans at Bethpage.
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Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas share an embrace after the USA's defeat in Rome.
