Collin Morikawa expresses massive disappointment after missing out on winning the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational: "This one stings"

Leading down the stretch, Collin Morikawa could only watch as Russell Henley chipped in on the 16th to take a small lead he wouldn't relinquish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He fell short of winning the Signature Event to Henley by a single stroke.

Morikawa refused to make any excuses for his late mini-collapse, saying on Instagram:

"No excuses. Never had any, but always a nice reminder. Honestly though, this one stings."

The American golfer was inching toward the biggest win of the season, but he fell short thanks to a slight dip in performance at the end. The door was only opened a wee bit, but that was all Henley needed to charge through.

Morikawa has been in strong form recently, finishing tied for 17th at the Genesis Open, the same at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and solo second at the Sentry.

This was his closest outing to a win in 2025, though. He finished the same in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Sentry, but he was three strokes back (despite a shocking -32 outing) at the Sentry and only one from at least a playoff at the API.

The loss hurts, especially since he had a lead and could've won a Signature Event, but he's going to use it as motivation to get better in the future.

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Russell Henley addresses clutch comeback over Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa was pipped by Russell Henley for a close win on Sunday evening. The final few holes were action-packed to wrap up a closely contested weekend with a top field from the PGA Tour.

Russell Henley beat Collin Morikawa at the Arnold Palmer (Image via Imagn)

Henley, who rose to OWGR rank seven from 14 last week, said of Morikawa and his battle via Golf.com:

“It’s unbelievable. Hats off to Collin, he played great today, he played super steady, but sometimes golf is just mean like that.”

Morikawa drove his shot into the bunker and ended up with a 19-foot birdie putt, but Henley's second shot appeared to be heading over the green until it hit the pin and chipped in. Henley said he believes it would've gone well by:

“I knew it was probably going to be, I don’t know, 5, 6 feet by, but I don’t know that you can stop it with any pace right there. I think Collin hit his a couple feet by. That’s just kind of golf. I mean, sometimes you get a good break like that and it hits the pin and goes in.”

Morikawa missed his birdie putt, which flipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational leaderboard. It was a stroke margin that Collin Morikawa was never able to overcome on the 17th and 18th.