Collin Morikawa certainly is a unique name. He won his first major in 2020 when he emerged victorious at the PGA Championship and the second one was the 2021 Open Championship. Have you ever wondered what ethnicity does he belong to? Well, he was born on February 6, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. He is American by birth, but he is of Japanese-Chinese descent.

His father, Blaine Morikawa, has Japanese roots but hails from Hawaii. His mother is of Chinese descent but was born in California. He had a comfortable upbringing, with his parents owning a commercial laundry business near downtown Los Angeles that delivers linens, and tablecloths to restaurants throughout Los Angeles.

Morikawa started showing his talent when he was 5. His parents then decided to enroll him in a junior golf camp at a public course called Scholl Canyon. It was a 3,039-yard, par-60 track where a certain Rick Sessinghaus worked as an instructor. He is still Morikawa’s coach to this day. Morikawa attended the University of California, Berkeley (Cal), where he was a four-time All-American and the top-ranked golfer in collegiate golf.

He also bagged the prestigious Pac-12 Championship and finished his degree in business administration from Cal. He turned pro in 2019 and won his first tournament at the 2019 Barracuda Championship which he had entered with a sponsor exemption. This win helped him secure his PGA card for the 2020 season.

As per Sky Sports, Morikawa said that he may be an American, but he thought it was “cool” that he received support from the Japanese fans during the Zozo Championship. He felt proud that the fans in Japan could, “still see that they are similar to me” and he hoped to inspire them with his success on the PGA Tour. He also admitted that his family trips to Japan were important for him to find a connection with his ancestry. Calling it an “instant connection“, Morikawa admitted said, “This is where my heritage and my life has started.”

Not only Morikawa, but his better half is also of Chinese descent. Let us get to know about his better half a bit more.

Who is Collin Morikawa’s wife?

His wife, Kathrine Morikawa (neé Zhu), hails from China. She was born in Vancouver, Canada, and went to high school at the Zhuji Hailiang Private High School. After her schooling, she went to Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She has also played golf at a collegiate level and chose the school to further her golfing career. Zhu once explained that having lived in different cultures makes her appreciate diversity in the game, “That’s really helped me to play golf, because I meet different people when playing in tournaments. It provided me a broader perspective of the world, and I got to understand more about the sport, people,and my teammates better,” she told Pepperdine Waves in 2016. She met her future husband during her college years.

It seems like a match made in heaven, with his wife being heavily involved in Morikawa’s career. She has also caddied for him on a few occasions, most notably at the Par-3  Contest at the Masters. The couple got married in 2022 in an intimate ceremony with close family and friends. Having such a support system surely elevates Morikawa’s game, and it will be interesting to see how his career shapes up in the future.