Collin Morikawa was edged out by Russell Henley to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week. The former was very close to victory but, sadly, lost out.
Morikawa had declined speaking to the media after the loss and defended his decision going into the Players Championship this week. His decision was blasted by golf critics such as Brandel Chamblee, Paul McGinley and Rocco Mediate.
However, the two-time Major champion stood by his decision and fired back at the critics. Speaking at the post-round press conference of the Players Championship, Morikawa willingly added a quote at the end of the interview:
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"I just want to add one more thing. 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," he said via Sky Sports.
Golf Digest had posted a video of him saying it on their X account prompting fans to give their opinions on the matter in the comment section.
Fans have been left divided on Collin Morikawa's stance on the whole situation. Some admitted to admiring him as a player and still not agreeing with his decision, some supported it while others were completely against it.
"But you do owe the fans and the media Colin. That's your obligation as a golf professional. Actually, it's in your contract. Bad round or not. And you're in an extremely privileged position. And before I get abused, I actually like Colin. Great player,"
"Unfortunately this will not go away for Collin …" one fan said.
"Dawg if it wasn’t for the fans/the press, you’d be a regular golfer. Playing golf w/no1 watching you, no watching you means no sponsorship, no sponsorship means no money, no money means u’re working a 9-5 golfing only on the wknds if you can afford it. He & Rory should hold hands" another added.
Many fans drew comparisons between Collin Morikawa's reaction to his defeat at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to Rory McIlroy's similar stance after losing to Bryson DeChambeau last year.
"Rory left the US open about 5 minutes after Bryson won. And didn’t speak for a long time after. Collin is awesome."
"Maybe angry Colin is going to be what it takes for him to start winning. I don’t think Rory got this much abuse at the US Open and definitely wasn’t signing, i’m happy Colin is not backing down. Go get em angry Colin." one fan wrote.
Some fans supported the ace golfer's decision to not speak to anyone after the loss and hitting back at the media for criticising him for it.
"I agree with what Collin said. If he doesn’t want to speak to the media about his hurtful loss, then it’s fine in my book. There would be no gain for Collin to meet the media to speak on that loss, he’s human. The Media should respect his feelings" one fan stated.
"I respect the fans. I'm very thankful for them" - Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa, despite being criticised for not caring about his fans, said that he had gone on to sign autographs for the fans after the defeat at Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.
He expressed his gratitude and appreciation for his fans and confessed to being hurt by the criticism he faced over the past few days, while speaking at the Players Championship press conference.
"I respect the fans. I'm very thankful for them. I'm grateful. It makes me emotional, but it hurts to hear people say this [criticize], and especially you guys [media], because I finished the round and I went to go sign for 10 minutes, 15 minutes for all the people after," he said via Sky Sports.
Collin Morikawa further added that no one from the media followed him after the defeat, but he was there to sign for "every single person right after the round, whether they wanted it or not". He mentioned that "they couldn't care less" because he had come second, but he chose to leave it at that.
Morikawa is currently competing at the Players Championship. He is placed T4 after the culmination of Round 2 alongside Rory McIlroy and Alex Smalley.
