Collin Morikawa Shows Stones with Bold U.S. Open Proclamation
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The 2025 U.S. Open is less than 24 hours away from teeing off at Oakmont Country Club, which has a reputation for being one of the most difficult golf courses in the world. The track demands precision, patience, and mental grit at all times.
Even Tiger Woods recently chimed in, warning players about the challenges they're about to face.
"It's about missing the ball on correct spots... because if you don't, it's horrible," he expressed on Tuesday. But Collin Morikawa seems to be more than excited for the challenge.
This year, as Oakmont prepares to challenge the world's best, several PGA Tour pros were asked a straightforward question:
"Would you take even par at Oakmont this week?"
Among those answering were Sepp Straka, Patrick Cantlay, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland, Corey Conners, and Morikawa.
Knowing what's ahead, nearly every single golfer agreed taking even par would be prudent. But not Morikawa.
Would you take even par at Oakmont this week? 🤔
TOUR players weigh in. pic.twitter.com/HOXf0VBlpB — Golfbet (@Golfbet) June 10, 2025
When asked directly, the 2-time major champion responded, "Take my chances," choosing to test himself rather than settling for even par.
It was a confident answer, but one that raises eyebrows considering his recent form.
Collin Morikawa Looks to Regain Form at U.S. Open
Though Morikawa has three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this year, it is hard to ignore that his last win came back at the 2023 ZOZO Championship. But since then, he has struggled to find the winner's circle.
This will be his seventh U.S. Open, and while he's had success in majors, one typically wants to be in form entering the tournament.
OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 11: Collin Morikawa of the United States gestures on the 11th hole prior to the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 11, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by...
OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 11: Collin Morikawa of the United States gestures on the 11th hole prior to the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 11, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Photo by) MoreAfter watching Russell Henley steal the Arnold Palmer Invitational from him on that fateful Sunday, his results have been all over the place.
He finished tied for 14th at the Masters, but could not break the top 50 at the RBC Heritage and PGA Championship.
However, there is something to say for confidence. Morikawa is clearly not lacking in that department, but some fans see something else.
Fans gave Morikawa a reality check
As the post went viral, netizens were quick to react. Fans wasted no time poking fun at his response, with one bluntly commenting:
"And... Morikawa misses the cut."
Another added, "Morikawa stupid a** isn't even going to make the cut lol. And he was the only cocky answer in here."
Some even flooded the comment section with GIFs to mock his optimism.
Collin preparing to take on Oakmont pic.twitter.com/1ZAckxW4yV — Bruce Berry (@halliesberries) June 10, 2025
"Tough to make the cut," one fan posted, offering a reality check to all the golfers teeing up this week.
What is your opinion? Will Morikawa prove his critics wrong or will Oakmont deliver the lesson so many expect? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
More Golf: Tiger Woods Gives Stern U.S. Open Advice to Players at Oakmont
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Phil Mickelson walks in silence in possibly his last U.S. Open
OAKMONT, Pa. — As Phil Mickelson, aka Lefty, aka Phil the Thrill, aka FIGJAM, aka one of the two most famous golfers of the 21st century, teed off Thursday in what might be his final U.S. Open, there were more security guards than journalists following him. And there were two security guards. Clad in HyFlyers gear, looking more trim than he ever did during his apex of popularity, Mickelson — like many of his fellow competitors at Oakmont — played well on the back nine and struggled on the front. And like most of his fellow competitors, he walked in virtual silence from the galleries, with only an occasional 'Go Phil!' punctuating the silence. Advertisement By this point, Mickelson's fall from golf's good graces isn't just well-documented, it's canon. Once the darling of the golf world — the rascally, cocky yin to Tiger Woods' steely yang — Mickelson lived a charmed life, getting himself into and out of trouble both on and off the golf course. He somehow radiated arrogant confidence while remaining a hero of the everyman. But then the Saudis came calling, and Mickelson couldn't resist their siren call, or the chance to stick it to the PGA Tour. Even though Mickelson turned out to be right about the ways the PGA Tour needed to change, the way he went about it with cynical opportunism turned the majority of his former fans against him. Advertisement Mickelson and the U.S. Open have a long and complicated history all their own. He's finished in second place six different times, an incredible run of almost-good-luck that's kept him from claiming the career grand slam. Matters bottomed out in 2018, when Mickelson, in frustration, hit a still-moving ball at Shinnecock en route to a T48 finish. He's missed the cut at four of the last five U.S. Opens, including the last three in a row. And as of this year, he's all out of the exemptions that he'd earned for winning the 2021 PGA Championship … meaning, if he wants back in, he'll need to either receive a special exemption from the USGA, or play his way back in. 'We hope he earns his way in, and I think he'd tell you the same thing,' USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer said on Wednesday. 'That's what he did last time. We gave him one, and then he went out and won the PGA Championship. So, wouldn't put it past him.' Phil Mickelson gives a thumbs up as he takes part during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Expecting a performance that would qualify him to play in another U.S. Open is a pretty tall order at this point. Mickelson has three top-10 finishes in seven LIV Golf events this year, including a T4 last week in Virginia where he spent time in the lead. Advertisement For a moment on Thursday, it appeared that momentum had carried through to Oakmont. He made the turn at even par, good enough to stay within sight of the leaders. But a bogey-bogey-double start to his second nine effectively crushed his day, leaving him eight strokes behind clubhouse leader J.J. Spaun. Mickelson declined to speak to the media after he finished, and will have perhaps just one more opportunity to perform before a U.S. Open gallery. Thirty-one years ago, Arnold Palmer also bade farewell to the U.S. Open, also at Oakmont. He walked up the 18th hole to waves of applause and tears. Regardless of how his career has flickered in the last few years, Mickelson will likely receive the same treatment. It will be a well-deserved coda to his career, but you can't help but wonder what the reception would be without the last few years coloring his reputation.
San Francisco Chronicle
18 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
US Open players get that sinking feeling, straight down into the rough at brutal Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, waved the rules official over. Certainly, a ball buried that deep in the rough had to have embedded into the soft turf below when his off-line drive on the 12th hole landed with a thunk. No such luck, the official told him. The rough at Oakmont is just deep — and thick and hard to escape. Instead of taking a free drop for an embedded ball, Woodland had to replace it where he found it, get out his wedge, take a hack and pray. That resulted in Woodland's first blemish in a back nine of 6-over 41 at the U.S. Open on Thursday. It turned a promising round that began with three birdies into a 3-over 73 slog. Woodland's was one of dozens of tales from the rough — gnarly, thick and sometimes downright impossible — that make an Open at Oakmont as tough as they come. 'Even for a guy like me, I can't get out of it some of the times, depending on the lie,' said defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who makes a living on overpowering golf courses and gouging out of the thick stuff. 'It was tough. It was a brutal test of golf.' DeChambeau was at even par when he nuked his second shot over the green and into the rough in back of the 12th green. The grass opened up his club face on the third and rifled the ball into more rough. He needed two more shots to advance the ball from there to the fringe. He shot 73. 'If you miss the green, you miss it by too much, you then try to play an 8-yard pitch over the rough onto a green that's brick hard running away from you,' Scotland's Robert MacIntyre said after his round of even-par 70. 'It just feels like every shot is on a knife edge.' Punishing the best in the world is exactly how the superintendents at what might be America's toughest golf course planned it. For the record, they do mow this rough. If they didn't, there's a chance some of the grass would lay over itself, allowing the ball to perch up instead of sink down. The mowers here have blades that use suction to pull the grass upward as they cut, helping the grass stand up straight and creating the physics that allow the ball to sink to the bottom. Which is exactly where Rory McIlroy found his second shot, then his third, after failing to gouge his drive out of the lush green fescue located right of all that 'regular' rough on the par-4 fourth. He made 6 there on his way to 74. On No. 3, top-ranked No. 1 Scottie Scheffler hit his tee shot into the famous church pew bunker, then cooked his second shot up the hill and over the green. The rough opened up his clubface on the chip, sending the ball into the second cut of fringe. He got down in two to save bogey there. Patrick Reed hit the shot of the day. It was a 286-yarder from the fairway that hit the green and dropped in for only the fourth albatross — a 2 on a par 5 — in recorded U.S. Open history. If only he could have stopped there. His ensuing drive was so far left, it landed in the rough near the eighth tee box. He hacked across the fairway into more rough and scrambled to save bogey. Later, Reed short-sided his approach on No. 9, moved the next shot from the rough about 5 feet and needed to get up and down for bogey. Maybe J.J. Spaun figured it out the best. With the dew still slickening the grass for his early tee time, Spaun chipped in from a gnarly lie on his first hole to open the Open with a birdie. He only hit eight of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, but that was good enough for a 4-under 66, which sent him home with the lead and a chance to watch the afternoon players suffer. 'I like feeling uncomfortable,' Spaun said. ___
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pooler pizza place offering ‘dad daycare' for Father's Day
POOLER, Ga. (WSAV) — Boston's Pizza will be celebrating Father's Day this weekend by offering its own spin on the festivities 'dad daycare.' Starting Friday, dads can be dropped off to hang out with fellow dads while enjoying food and watching the many sporting events of the weekend, including the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals and U.S. Open. 'We understand that families might have to get dad a last-minute gift or may just need a break, so we wanted to offer a place to drop him off with other dads his age who share a lot of the same interests,' said General Manager Cynthia Tijerina. 'The dad daycare staff at Boston's is very qualified to take good care of the dads inyour family, and we are happy to share a progress report when you pick him up.' Boston's is open from 11-1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Sunday hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
