For a long time, Collin Morikawa had one thorn in his flesh. Hailed as one of the best iron players of his generation, his short game has always been his bête noir. Six wins in five years of turning pro is spectacular enough. More so when you have two majors to your name. But the 26-year-old understood that if not for his subpar short game, the tally would have been higher.

So, Morikawa knocked on the doors of Stephen Sweeney in late 2022. The first collaboration with the Florida-based putting instructor came at the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship in Mayakoba. Sweeney, whose clients include Shane Lowry, Mito Pereira, and Joaquin Niemann, ‘taught’ the PGAT Pro the ABCs of putting. A year later, does the PGAT Pro still feel his need?

Is Collin Morikawa still working with Sweeney?

After the second round of the Sentry, a reporter asked the 26-year-old in the press conference, “This time last year, the talk was you started working with Stephen Sweeney. Are you still working with him?” Collin Morrikawa’s eyes light up immediately. “Oh, yeah. It’s a great thing. We’ve been able to dial everything in.”

The two-time Major winner feels he has a better understanding of his game. He knows, “What I need to do when I take time off… We know how to look back at those things.” Although he has changed his putter several times, Collin Morikawa has never taken the help of a putting coach since turning pro. But countless times, at clutch moments, his short game has felt agonizingly short of what was needed at the top level. But a year later, Stephen Sweeney’s effect is visible.

Morikawa ranked 114th last season in strokes gained from putting. Still a far cry from the best, but a significant improvement from his 131st position in 2021–22 and 178 in 2020–21. The six-time PGA Tour winner has improved in putting from 20 to 25 feet, where he ranks at 75 now, up from 162 two years ago. However, there is still much room for improvement.

Morikawa identified his weakness

However, his putting average still keeps him out of the top fifty (54) on the Tour. There is still work to do, Morikawa admits. “The stroke still feels good; I just didn’t match up speeds, and the lines were throwing me off a little bit here and there.” The six-time PGA Tour winner ranked 177th in putting from 6 feet, 173 in putting from 5 feet, and 150 in putting from 4 to 8 feet.

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Even now, there are moments when his short game falters. The 2021 Open Championship winner’s birdie conversion percentage is 32.53%. Viktor Hovland, with whom he is tied for the fifth spot on the Sentry leaderboard, ranks eighth with a 34.98% conversion rate. In the second round, he has been “misreading a few things.” And “a couple (of) double-breakers” still causes him a headache. But Collin Morikawa knows what he is looking at and feels positive enough to turn the tide in his favor.

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