Collin Morikawa struggles with the fear of injury

Collin Morikawa was unpleasant, he said.

He had no faith.

He was scared.

“And I’ve never been so scared in my life,” he said, “to go out and play.”

The comments after Morikawa’s round on Thursday seem dire. And yet, Morikawa is hanging around RBC inheritance event, a week after hanging around at Mastersand about a month after he was forced to withdraw from Players Championship. The latter seemed alarming. Morikawa had made a practice swing on his second hole at TPC Sawgrass, caught the backswing and was done. Due to the injury, he missed three weeks.

At Augusta National, however, he played 11-under golf in his final three rounds and tied for seventh. And at Harbor Town Golf Links, he’s kept things going. On Thursday, he shot a four-under 67, on Friday a 68, and he will be in the mix for the weekend. Of course, the backs are unstable, and he is careful. After his first round, he told reporters he was swinging about 50 percent.

“The body is probably a little better than that,” he said. “It’s hard to trust your body now. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling. I had never experienced anything like this until about a month ago.

“There’s just no confidence, and that’s the hardest thing, to say go for the shot when you’re trying to play in a tournament, because basically for me I’m just trying to hang on all week.”

The concern is what it can afford. For the past three years, he has battled back injuries, but the problems then started in the gym, never on the golf course.

But a few weeks ago, he said he had to play in the Masters and would find a way to protect his back “a little bit more.”

“There was a point where it was like, OK, let’s stop pushing to see how far we can go,” Morikawa said, “and let’s see what I can work with.”

The Masters, he said, was a mini-victory.

“I said it last week: It was one of the best tournaments I could have asked for,” Morikawa said. “I sorted it out, obviously had some good runs on Saturday and Sunday at the end of the rounds.

“But yeah, this week hopefully we can put together rounds like that and see where we stack up on Sunday.”

On Thursday, he played bogey free. On Friday, he played four-under over his final nine holes. He said he was “pushing her around, slapping her around.” He said he thought about not playing, but Harbor Town “is one of the flat test courses around here”.

One question, however, is what the coming weeks will look like. The Masters began a six-week stretch featuring three signature events and two majors, and the hope, he said, was to play everything. But time at home may be needed. There he can experiment.

“I feel like I’m swinging a little bit better in the drive, at least, but I wouldn’t say I’m putting in more effort because, like I said, I’ve got to be home to say, okay, let’s up the gear.” Morikawa said.

“If I feel a little uncomfortable, at least I’m at home, I’m not trying to play a tournament where I basically have to play 72 holes.”

Fortunately for him, only 36 are left at RBC.

The win and a $3.6 million first-place check wouldn’t hurt, either.

“I want to be very healthy,” Morikawa said. “I don’t want to limp and be afraid to put a golf ball out of a hole or put it out, and unfortunately that’s where I am right now.

“I have to be comfortable in these uncomfortable situations and these last two weeks are helping me slowly get over it.”

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