Only a few days ago, Collin Morikawa was criticized for his shocking stance of not giving interviews. He had just gotten off a disappointing loss at the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. It seemed that Morikawa had a win in the bag as he led the table after his last 18 were completed. But to everyone’s surprise, Russell Henley went 4-under in his last 7 holes to overtake Morikawa and win the signature event. And what unfolded was a lot of back-and-forth.

Still upset about his loss, the 28-year-old told the media, “I get it. Like you guys are there to figure out how we played and how things went, but in my perspective, like I just didn’t want to talk to anyone, and I think that’s fair to myself, you know,” as he wanted to stay away from the negative comments. Failing to win a title yet again despite coming so close, Morikawa didn’t want to explain himself to the media.

And being upset is understandable. After all, avoiding media interaction is better than saying something in the heat of the moment and regretting it later. Also, it is not the first time a golfer has skipped media interaction. Remember when Rory McIlroy stormed out of Pinehurst last summer after missing a couple of short putts that cost him the U.S. Open? Yeah, that.

But he faced a lot of heat for his statement as Brandel Chamblee stated, “When I found that he had refused to do the interview I was thinking about the players who had suffered far more devastating losses, far more momentous losses, who regained their equilibrium and with class gave the media – and it’s not just giving the media, it is giving the fans and the sponsors and the entire ecosystem of the golf world an explanation of the humanity of losing.” It seems that Morikawa’s attitude triggered the golf expert.

Veteran golfer, Rocco Mediate was also shocked to hear Morikawa state. The 6x PGA Tour winner said, “Biggest bunch of horsesh–t you could ever say, period. I mean, that is the dumbest, most selfish garbage you could ever say.” Paul McGinley also chipped in with his own comment on the situation. However, he was more critical of the entire generation of golfers as he stated “There’s a sense of greed and a sense of entitlement that the public has a perception of them. … I don’t know if history is going to reflect back on this generation of players as being good for the game.”

In his most recent interview, Morikawa didn’t shy away from responding to any of their comments. He said, “I might bite my tongue after saying this, but to the Brandel Chamblees, to the Paul McGinleys, to the Rocco Mediates of the world, I don’t regret anything I said. You know, it might have been a little bit harsh that I don’t owe anyone, but I don’t owe anyone.” The PGA Tour pro seems to be sticking to his statement as he continues to push for success.

Before his media appearance, the 28-year-old started from the 10th hole and powered through 9 birdies. This put him to his career best round at TPC Sawgrass and within two strokes of the clubhouse leaders Akshay Bhatia and Min Woo Lee. Now if you are a hardcore follower of golf, you sure know about the Stadium Course’s fabled par-three 17th hole. The golfer managed to come agonizingly close to it as he put forth the shot of the day at the 4th.

Some 31 feet away from the cup, the American professional golfer turned to his 3-wood to drop in a spectacular chip and a fifth birdie across seven holes. Quite a day for the American amidst the criticism he has been receiving lately!

As unapologetic as Morikawa was to the golf insiders, he still didn’t want to leave his fans hanging. The 2021 Open Championship winner explained himself to the community.

Collin Morikawa clears the air with the fans

While not concerned about what Chamblee, Mediate, and McGinley had to say, Collin Morikawa still had some explaining to do to his fans. And he was not afraid to say, “I respect the fans. I’m very thankful for them. I’m grateful. It makes me emotional, but it’s just — it hurts to hear people say this, and especially you guys, because I finished the round and I went to go sign for 10 minutes, 15 minutes for all the people after. Not a single person from media went to go follow me because, I don’t know. But that’s me.” He seems to believe that the media is purposely turning him into a villain just because he refused to give interviews.

Morikawa didn’t stop there as he had another message for the fans. He said, “So for people to be calling me out is — it’s interesting. It just, it doesn’t show anything. I mean, look, I get what you guys are saying. But I was there. I was signing for every single person right after the round, whether they wanted it or not. I finished second. They could care less. But yeah, I’m going to leave it at that, all right? So thank you guys.”

At the end of the day, Collin Morikawa was still grateful that the fans still showed up to support him. And that is what matters to him it seems. This comes off more genuinely than the misleading post by the PGA Tour that put him in hot water with the fans for showing “arrogance”. After everything that has happened recently, does Collin Morikawa still need to explain himself to the world? Let us know what you think in the comments section.