Collin Morikawa explains ‘weird’ new tactic at Travelers Championship
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Even Scottie Scheffler chimed in on Collin Morikawa’s trial: ‘You definitely won’t see me trying that.’
What’s odd about the picture above? If you said Collin Morikawa is playing an iron shot while not wearing a glove, give yourself a pat on the back.
But this wasn’t a case of the two-time major champion being forgetful. The idea came to him during a range session ahead of this week’s Travelers Championship.
Despite being one of the best iron players in the world, Morikawa, as he put it, “just kept missing 30-feet left”.
He tried a few shots without a glove and, just like that, something clicked. So he took it into the tournament.
And, hey, it worked out for him. A 3-under-par round of 67 saw him five shots off the early pace set by Scottie Scheffler and Austin Eckroat at TPC River Highlands.
We suppose there’s one obvious question here. Why?
“Look, we’re crazy,” Morikawa said. “Honestly, we’re crazy because we try a lot of things, but that’s what makes us really good is we’re trying to find the little things.
“Even though last week I think I was top-five or whatever in approach, I know I can get better and feel more comfortable. Even though it ends up close, it’s a comfort factor of just being less stressed out there.”
By the way, that “top five or whatever”? Morikawa comfortably led the US Open field in Strokes Gained: Approach at Oakmont.
“Look, when it comes down to it, our hands are what makes us such good athletes and [what makes us] such good golfers is that we have so much feel,” Morikawa added.
“For some reason when I’ve taken the glove off this week, it’s kind of worked. The problem is, it’s really hot and it’s sweaty.”
The highlight of Morikawa’s gloveless approach at the Travelers was the par-3 16th, where he stuck it to five feet before rolling in a fourth birdie of a round that was only marred by a single dropped shot after an errant drive required a sip of medicine.
He continued: “But honestly, I started seeing shots that I was hitting, and even the bad ones were not good, but that’s where I expect them to be. Sixteen was exactly how I am used to seeing shots. Obviously it doesn’t have to be five feet, but just the curvature of the shot is what I was really, really happy to see about that.”
Is it a tactic which Morikawa will be sticking with?
“It’s very, very weird,” he shrugged. “Trust me.”
It’s certainly not something Scheffler is interested in trying.
“I’ve tried to hit without my glove and I’m not any good at it,” the World No.1 said.
“You definitely won’t see me doing that. I’ve got sweaty hands, so that ain’t going to work.”
- If you are more Scottie Scheffler than Collin Morikawa, be sure to check out our Best Golf Gloves 2025 feature.
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Collin Morikawa played his iron shots at the Travelers Championship with no glove.
