Only a few days ago, Collin Morikawa had turned into the biggest villain on the PGA Tour. His actions after a disappointing loss in the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational saw him receive a lot of criticism. Ever so close to breaking his winning streak, Morikawa had a major slip-up in the final round as he gave up the lead in the Signature event to Russell Henley. The frustrated Californian couldn’t face the heat after the huge blunder and decided to skip the post-tournament interviews.

Morikawa’s actions received a lot of criticism from the community. Even Brandel Chamblee jumped into the conversation, stating how the 28-year-old “will regret” his actions. That forced the runner-up at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational to defend himself. But Morikawa may have chosen the wrong path when he decided to say that he doesn’t “owe anyone” anything to be forced to give the interviews.

Collin Morikawa seems to have finally received some support from a fellow PGA Tour pro. And it’s none other than the much-loved Irishman, Rory McIlroy. In a pre-tournament interview before the Masters Tournament, McIlroy was asked about the incident involving Morikawa. The 28x PGA Tour winner said, “Well, he’s right. Not that I think he could have worded it a little bit better, but look, every other athlete, whether it be in the NBA, NFL, they’re obligated to speak to you guys after a game. We’re not. Whether that’s something that the PGA TOUR looks to in terms of putting that into their rules and regulations, but as long as that’s not the case and we have that option to opt-out whenever we want, expect guys to do that from time to time.”

McIlroy is not wrong, as the athletes are supposed to prioritize their mental peace over what the media wants from them. They have the choice to “opt-out” if they are not in the best frame of mind to present themselves in front of journalists after a tough loss. During the same press conference, Morikawa was also questioned about his opinion on everything that happened. He replied, “Look, I said it in my second media thing. I could have said it differently. But I stand by what I said. I was in the moment. We talk about giving people space to be who they are, and at that time, it was for me to be who I was, and I didn’t want to be around anyone. I didn’t even want to be around my wife. I said hi to her after, we hugged, and I just went straight to the locker room.”

Morikawa was clearly pissed about losing the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Interestingly, he had a lot more to say in the interview to explain his side of the story. Let’s see what the 28-year-old said.

Collin Morikawa speaks his mind

Speaking of being put in a tough situation after a disappointing loss, Collin Morikawa said, “I think there needs to be a balance and an ebb and flow between everything. I do want to be here for you guys, but here’s the thing: I’ve been in the top 5 in the world before, and people don’t come up to me and ask me questions. If you guys — you can’t just ask me when I’m playing well. You guys should be asking the top 10 players every single week, every single day, and just document it. Then you get a sense of who we are and you get a flow of how that comes to be.”

He believes that it is unfair that golfers become a target for the media only when they perform well. His interview after the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational was just as important as that of any other high-ranked player.

Continuing to defend his actions, Morikawa also added, “But if you’re only asking me — look, I’ve been in the top 5 for however long in my career, there’s plenty of times where media doesn’t ask me. There’s a balance, right? If you guys don’t want to ask me, it’s not my job to go out and tell you my story. Sometimes it is, but you do that through social media, you do that through playing well, winning tournaments. But not everyone is like that. That’s what I don’t get this whole — I stand by what I said.”

Speaking strictly about his interview after the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational loss, seems like he was in no state of mind to interact with anyone. Maybe Collin Morikawa not giving interviews after the loss is much better than what he would have said if he had stood in front of the media. Wouldn’t you agree?