Collin Morikawa could not get out of Orlando fast enough after coughing up a three-shot lead with five holes to play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Collin Morikawa’s early Arnold Palmer Invitational exit slammed by Rocco Mediate
Collin Morikawa did not speak to the media after his close call at Bay Hill, prompting Rocco Media to sound off.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
He rushed to his car, and got an early start on his two-hour drive north to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where The Players is this week. But he declined to speak to the media after his defeat, leaving many to wonder what went wrong down the stretch.
Morikawa finally addressed it during his Tuesday press conference at TPC Sawgrass.
“Just heated. Just pissed,” Morikawa said when asked why he did.
“Like 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. Like, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t need any sorries. I didn’t need any ‘good playings.’ Like, you’re just pissed.”
Unfortunately for Morikawa, players who have suffered worse defeats have faced the music before. Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters immediately comes to mind. So does Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999 and Phil Mickelson at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
Another player who endured a gut-wrenching deficit?
Rocco Mediate.
Mediate lost to Tiger Woods in a 19-hole playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He would have won his lone major title if Woods had not made a 12-footer for birdie on the 18th green to match his score the day before. Instead, Mediate became one of the more famous runner-ups in the history of the sport the following day.
After the playoff, Mediate answered every question — 33 to be exact — and took the loss on the chin, showing the world how to lose with dignity.
So when he heard what Morikawa had to say about why he skipped out on the press at Bay Hill, Mediate scolded him on his Sirius XM Radio Show.
Alex Myers of Golf Digest initially posted it on X.
“Biggest bunch of horsesh-t you could ever say, period,” Mediate said.
“I mean, that is the dumbest, most selfish garbage you could ever say. Mr. Palmer would’ve hunted him down.”
What makes professional golfers so endearing is how fans can relate to them on a human level, especially in defeat. Everyone goes through trials and tribulations, highs and lows, and golf fans want to understand how the best players in the world — the individuals who are idolized — handle adversity and fight through defeats. Most top players, like Morikawa, make millions of dollars too, but the cost of being a pro golfer is that you have an obligation to speak to the fans through the media.
“Honestly, if it was an hour later I would have talked to you guys... But I just felt like I put everything I did into the, let’s call it, seven hours of my time being there, right, a few hours before showing up, physio, workout. Look, my entire routine, right. I was just drained. I get it,” Morikawa said.
“Like you guys are there to figure out how we played and how things went, but in my perspective, I just didn’t want to talk to anyone, and I think that’s fair to myself, you know?”
But is that fair to the fans? Does that set a good example?
Millions look up to these players for inspiration. Avoiding adversity and lacking accountability like Morikawa did are bad precedents to set.
Mediate is 100-percent right.
He knows, after all.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
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