Collin Morikawa remains firmly in contention at the Tour Championship after two rounds at East Lake Golf Club. The 29-year-old is tied for third at 9 under, just one stroke behind co-leaders Ryan Gerard and Viktor Hovland.
Morikawa opened with a 64 before following it with a bogey-free 67 on Friday. He has made 10 birdies and just one bogey through 36 holes, continuing a strong run that began with a tie for fourth at last week’s BMW Championship.
His putting has been an important part of that recent form. Morikawa is also dealing with a persistent back issue that has affected his driving, making his performance on the greens particularly important as he looks to challenge for the FedEx Cup title.
After his strong putting performance, Morikawa was asked about the changes behind his improvement.
Kevin Kisner Gets Most of the Credit From Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa revealed that a conversation with Kevin Kisner, Tiger Woods and Max Homa at TGL helped him find a putting approach that has started to stick.
“I’m telling you, I had a great talk at TGL with Tiger, Kis — I probably should give most of the credit to Kis. I don’t want to, but he deserves it — and Max,” Morikawa said. “It just stuck with me. It was very simple.”
The conversation came after Morikawa parted ways with putting coach Stephen Sweeney earlier this year.
He said he gained plenty of knowledge from his work with Sweeney but needed to find an approach he could consistently use from week to week.
“I parted ways with Stephen Sweeney earlier this year, and I felt like I got a lot of knowledge of what I need to do, but I just needed to find something that stuck week in and week out,” Morikawa said.
Morikawa believes he has now found that consistency. The change has come at an important point in his season, with the Tour Championship representing his final opportunity to add another win to his 2026 campaign.
He is also looking to build on his strong finish at the BMW Championship and challenge for another victory after entering the weekend just one shot off the lead at East Lake.
With that new approach beginning to click, Morikawa explained how it has changed his putting routine.
Collin Morikawa Trusts a Simpler Putting Routine
Morikawa said the biggest difference is how simple his preparation has become. Rather than making major changes during his warmup, he is incorporating small elements he has learned throughout the season.
“You just watch my warmup, it’s very, very simple, I’m not doing much, but I’m kind of incorporating things here and there that I’ve learned throughout the year,” Morikawa said.
That simplicity has helped him trust his stroke. He said the putter feels good and that he is seeing the lines more clearly when standing over his putts.
“It’s very, very simple right now. I’m trusting my stroke,” Morikawa said. “The putter feels great. It’s nice when you feel like you can start them on line and you’re seeing the lines.”
The results have been evident at East Lake. Morikawa is ranked second in strokes gained putting through two rounds of the Tour Championship.
While his putting has been a strength, Morikawa identified his driving as the area he needs to tighten up over the final two rounds.
He said he needs to find more fairways because East Lake offers better scoring opportunities when players are in position.
“When you can play out of the fairways on this golf course, you can score, and you can have some good wedge shots where it kind of stops on a dime,” Morikawa said.
Morikawa will enter Saturday’s third round alongside Chris Gotterup, with the pair scheduled to tee off at 2:43 p.m. ET.
Collin Morikawa Reveals Who Fixed His Putting After Coaching Split