Getty Collin Morikawa and his wife Katherine Zhu
Collin Morikawa married Katherine Zhu on November 26, 2022, in Los Angeles. The pro golfer has had a quick rise in the PGA Tour since turning pro in 2019 and Zhu has been by his side the whole time. The couple met in college and dated for several years before Morikawa proposed in 2021. They now live together in Las Vegas with their dog Koa.
Here’s what you need to know about Collin Morikawa’s wife Katherine Zhu Morikawa:
1. Katherine Zhu Was Born in Canada, Attended High School in China & Played Many Sports Growing Up
Katherine Zhu was born on January 13, 1996, in Vancouver, Canada. Her parents are from China and Zhu attended Zhuji Hailiang Private High School in China, where she graduated in 2014. Both her parents were athletes, and Zhu grew up very competitive herself. Her father is Mike Chu, who played tennis at Beijing Sport University and soccer when he was younger and her mother ran track, she told Pepperdine Waves.
In fact, Zhu was set to follow in her father’s footsteps and played tennis when she was younger before making the switch to golf. She told the publication, “When I was little, [my parents] would just sign me up for different sports. I started to be really involved in many sports. In school, I sought to run for the track and field. I think that they are really a big factor in how I got into sports.” According to an interview with the New York Post, it was a family friend who encouraged her to try golf.
After high school, Zhu attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where she majored in international management, according to her Pepperdine Waves profile. She said she chose the school because she liked the coach, the weather conditions that would allow her to practice golf year-round, and because “Pepperdine is a small school that is strong in both academics and athletics.”
2. Katherine Zhu Took Up Golf at the Age of 14 & Competed Throughout College in the U.S.
Like her famous husband, Zhu is also a golfer and competed throughout college. Her Pepperdine Waves profile states that she competed in 39 events and 107 rounds over her four seasons and had a 76.54 scoring average. It adds that she “Had three top-10 and seven top-20 results, plus eight below-par rounds.” Zhu also won “multiple WGCA All-American Scholar, Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar and WCC All-Academic honors,” her profile shows.
She said she began playing golf at 14 when she hit some balls at a driving range and found she really enjoyed it. “Once I started playing golf, I was just really into it,” she confessed to Pepperdine Waves. She said she enjoys the challenges of golf and the focus on not only competing against other players but also beating her past scores.
However, she admitted that playing golf has made her get nervous when Morikawa plays because she can read the game well. “I do get nervous because I play golf, so I know when something is about to get tricky,” she told the New York Post. “I know his strong suits and weaknesses. Sometimes his parents will ask me, ‘Is that a hard shot’?”
Zhu has many passions beyond golf and is a talented flute player, as her Pepperdine profile shows. She said she also enjoys tennis, swimming, taekwondo and figure skating. In the past several years, Zhu and Morikawa have also fostered many dogs and she’s often posted photos and updates on her foster dogs on her Instagram, where she boasts over 70,000 followers.
3. Katherine Zhu & Collin Morikawa Met When They Were Both in College Through a Mutual Friend
Morikawa and Zhu met while they were both in college, though Zhu was at Pepperdine and Morikawa was at the University of California, Berkeley. Zhu recounted that one of their mutual friends, who was on the Cal women’s golf team, was instrumental in introducing them. “We were just being college girls and talking about life,” she shared with the Post. “She said, ‘Are you seeing anyone? Let me introduce you to someone.’ I said, ‘Sure’ but I didn’t really think she would actually do it.”
Zhu’s friend did go through with it though, showing her Instagram photos to Morikawa and asking his thoughts. He was immediately interested, and the two began texting. They didn’t meet in person until spring break when Morikawa was back in Los Angeles. Morikawa has said Zhu is his “good luck charm,” she shared with the Post. “I really think he is just really good at golf,” she added.
As Morikawa recounted it in a PGA Tour video, he said he won his first college tournament the week after they met. “And we’ve done pretty good since,” he said. The pro golfer shared that the couple is very competitive when it comes to golf. “We’re never letting each other win,” he said. “I think she beats me, probably on 70% of our chipping competitions.”
He said being with Zhu has improved his playing and he loves that they can always compete. Morikawa shared that during off weeks on the PGA Tour, they can simply go to the course and compete against each other.
4. Collin Morikawa Proposed to Katherine Zhu in 2021 & They Got Married in November 2022
Morikawa proposed to Zhu on November 30, 2021, when they were in the Bahamas. He shared in an interview with the PGA Tour that he had a golf practice that morning with his caddie, JJ Jakovac, and he was so nervous thinking about what he was about to do that he was driving into ropes and was “all over the place.”
In his interview, Morikawa confessed that he was a lot more nervous proposing to Zhu than he’d ever been competing. “It’s not even the same,” he laughed. “It is so far gone. I mean, golf I do it every day, like it’s normal. Proposing is not.” While speaking with the PGA Tour, he said he’d received the blessing of Zhu’s parents and described their special moment.
“We took a boat ride around Nassau and stopped at this beach I had researched and picked as the spot,” he shared. “I wanted to make sure I proposed on the beach because I was so worried about dropping the ring into the water. After that, we ended up spending half the day together in the water… Even though I believed she was going to say yes, it’s a one-time opportunity and I wanted to make it really special. I was really nervous.”
On March 31, 2022, Zhu wished her partner a happy 5-year dating anniversary on Instagram, writing, “can’t believe how much we have been through together, from long distance for 2 years to moving in together for the last 3, getting a dog together and now we’re ENGAGED! can’t wait to spend a lifetime together with you!”
They got married on November 26, 2022, at Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, People reported. The couple said their vows in front of around 100 friends and family, the publication wrote, and had a 10-piece wind and string orchestra playing. The couple now lives in Las Vegas with their dog, a goldendoodle named Koa.
5. Collin Morikawa Has Often Praised His Wife for Her Support & Said He Loves That She Also Plays Golf
Morikawa and Zhu haven’t hesitated to proclaim their love for each other publicly and often post photos and videos together on their Instagram accounts. The pro golfer has shared in several interviews that he feels “very lucky” to be with his wife and is appreciative of her support throughout his career. “Kat has been by my side through it all,” he told Golf Channel’s Golf Central. “She would hate me if I didn’t say this, but I didn’t start winning in college until she showed up in my life, so thanks Kat.”
After they got engaged, he told PGA Tour that Zhu has been by his side since the days when nobody knew who he was. “That’s the coolest thing to me,” he gushed. “She doesn’t care how I play or what happens out there. She loves me for me. She has been amazing.”
Morikawa also shared that Zhu’s background as a competitive golfer means she understands what he’s going through but also knows when it’s good to get away from the sport. “She’s played collegiately, she knows golf can take a toll on you, whether it’s a good or bad day,” he shared with Golf Central. “So she’s on that same swing of if we’re playing well or not well. I’m very lucky to have her.”
He also said he loves being able to travel with her because the pro golfer’s life can get lonely. The couple loves to explore new cities and try different foods. He told Golf Digest that when he’s with Zhu, he can decompress and not think about the next day of the tournament. “She made things a lot easier, and it wasn’t as lonely,” he wrote for Sky Sports in 2020. “And I think that’s why I was able to go out there and just play golf, and she could get my mind off of it after or before the rounds.”