AUGUSTA, Ga. — On the eve of the Masters, the most important tournament of the year, Collin Morikawa on Tuesday tripled down on controversial remarks he made last month about tournament media obligations.
Morikawa’s ordeal began when he lost a three-shot lead with three holes to play to winner Russell Henley at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Afterward, he declined to speak to reporters and bolted to the locker room.
The following week, at the Players Championship, Morikawa explained to reporters, “I don’t owe anyone anything.
No offense to you guys, but for me, in the moment of that time, I didn’t want to be around anyone.’’
After being widely criticized for that stand, he would later double down on it.
And when asked about it Tuesday, he again reiterated his stance.
Morikawa insisted he was “not upset by’’ the criticism he took, saying, “I think everyone took it in a wrong direction.’’
Then he added, “Look, I said I could have said it differently. But I stand by what I said. I was in the moment. We talk about giving people space to be who they are, and at that time it was for me to be who I was. I didn’t want to be around anyone. I didn’t even want to be around my wife. I said hi to her after, we hugged, and I just went straight to the locker room.
“In that aspect … I think there needs to be a balance, and an ebb and flow between everything. I do want to be here for you guys [reporters], but here’s the thing: I’ve been in the top five in the world before and people don’t come up to me and ask me questions. You can’t just ask me when I’m playing well.
“You guys should be asking the top 10 players every single week, every single day and just document it. Then you get a sense of who we are and you get a flow of how that comes to be. There’s a balance, right?
“If you guys don’t want to ask me, it’s not my job to go out and tell you my story. Sometimes it is, but you do that through social media, you do that through playing well, winning tournaments. But not everyone is like that.’’
When Rory McIlroy, ranked No. 2 in the world, was asked about the comments made by Morikawa, ranked No. 4, he delivered an interesting reaction.
“Well, he’s right,’’ McIlroy said. “Not that I think he could have worded it a little bit better, but look, every other athlete — whether it be in the NBA, NFL — they’re obligated [by the respective leagues] to speak to you guys after a game. We’re not.
“Whether that’s something that the PGA Tour looks to in terms of putting that into their rules and regulations … but as long as that’s not the case and we have that option to opt out whenever we want, expect guys to do that from time to time.’’
Interestingly, Paul McGinley — a former player, Ryder Cup captain and current Golf Channel analyst — recently called for the PGA Tour powers to institute a rule requiring players to fulfill media obligations.
“I would be very strong on it if I was [PGA Tour commissioner] Jay Monahan,’’ he said.
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