THE RYDER CUP

September 24, 2025

Collin Morikawa

Bethpage Black Course

Team USA

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Collin Morikawa is with us now at the 2025 Ryder Cup.

Collin, welcome to your third Ryder Cup. Go ahead and jump right into questions.

Q. You said a couple weeks ago that sometimes these team events can almost like jolt you into being the player that you know you can be. Is that happening this week, and why do you think that is?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, look, so far this week, I've hit the ball actually probably better than I have -- statistically, I know my numbers ball-striking-wise look good, but it's a confidence thing.

I think these weeks just pull out the best in you. Especially when you have a home crowd like this and people are cheering you on and you want to just hit great shots, sometimes your focus gets that much more intentional. And when intentions match kind of what you're trying to accomplish, it sometimes comes together.

So these weeks are a moment for that, and you want to step up to the plate and you don't want to let not just the team down but the rest of the country, essentially, that are rooting you on.

Q. Does it almost feel like you're playing final round in contention the whole time?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah. Yeah, but very different vibes. I think final round in contention, it's you against everyone else, and it's you, really, in your own head. I mean, this you've got the partners, caddies, vice captains, captains, wives. You've got a lot of people supporting you, and that always helps.

Q. Earlier the Europeans were talking about how what happened at Whistling Straits drove them in Rome. What happened in Rome, has it played into your preparation, and does it give you a little more of a chip on your shoulder?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Absolutely. There was a sour taste leaving Rome. I think that was my first team loss that I've ever had since even amateur golf and junior golf.

So it felt really weird. Like it wasn't an okay feeling. You know, yeah, we're all out there drinking, having fun on Sunday night, but it just didn't feel right. We had a job and a goal to accomplish that week, and we just didn't pull through. We weren't hitting the shots. We weren't making the putts, and when you're on an away stage like that, you have to step up a little bit more.

For the past couple years, I wouldn't say it's haunted me, but it definitely woke me up when I was, you know, on the verge of making this team to make sure I could give everything I could. I've had four weeks, essentially, since I've been on this team and a lot of time to think about what I need to do and what I need to bring to this week.

Q. There's been a lot made about the money thing. I guess my question is more, do you know why you're being compensated?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Look, I think Keegan and the PGA of America have fought in certain ways just to, you know, whether it's a thank you or -- look, I think the PGA of America and whoever -- whoever is making a lot of money from The Ryder Cup, right, is -- they are making a lot of money. And I think on that end, it's just to give us an opportunity to either pay our respective teams, because look, the teams behind us, they don't get the recognition that we do, but they deserve a lot of it that we get.

But also just to give back to our own communities, right. We have a lot of communities back home that sometimes don't get the recognition, that don't get the word-of-mouth just because we don't travel to those places that the PGA TOUR stops on every week.

Just more opportunities, I think, for us to help out people that we care about.

Q. And just to follow up on that, if you were actually being fairly compensated for the time that you put into this, is $200,000 anywhere close?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Don't trap me in a corner (laughing).

There's no number. It could be zero. It could be one dollar. It could be -- there isn't a right or a wrong amount. Look, I think at the end of the day, all 12 of us here playing when we tee it up on Friday, and before this all started, we just want to win the Ryder Cup. We want to win it for ourselves. We want to win it for our country.

When we stood out there two days ago and we got speeches from the Nassau Players Club and we got speeches from the firefighter and his son, look, I'm not an emotional guy, but like there was emotions. And sometimes it just hits home.

When you hear that type of stuff and you're able to bring out that emotion, just being able to represent a country, you want to step on that first tee and put points on the board. That's all I'm going to remember. So hopefully we have a great three days come this week.

Q. Having been a part of so many team events now, I was wondering what still makes you nervous or anxious when you come into weeks like this.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I mean, there's a lot of buildup to these weeks. I got here late Saturday night just traveling from the West Coast. It's a long week all the way until the first tee shot, right.

But I would just say, you want to be on. I know I haven't been exactly who I want to be, but I know my game can still go out there and help my teammates put points on the board. That's what you want to do. You want to make those big-moment shots and putts and momentum because out here, that matters. And when you have a home crowd, it matters that much more to really use that for your advantage.

Q. What do you think will be the crowd advantage at Bethpage Black that these fans provide as opposed to maybe some of the past Ryder Cups?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, Whistling Straits, there was still a little bit of COVID. We had a crowd but it wasn't as big as what they say it's going to be here.

I'll be honest, I think it's kind of tame so far, Tuesday and Wednesday. I know tomorrow is going to be pretty bad but I hope Friday is just absolute chaos. I'm all for it. I think it feeds into who we are and the American players and the American Team. We want it. Like we want to use that to our advantage.

I think every sport uses their home crowd to their advantage, and just because we don't play in a setting like this doesn't mean the craziness of New York and the rest of the country that people are traveling in from, it doesn't mean that we can't use that to our advantage. I think we really have to tap into that. I hope they come strong.

Watching all these kids, I know they want autographs, but come Friday, I hope they go crazy.

Q. You talked about that team events can be a reset. I wonder if any part of that is playing these matches with such talented teammates, and if there are any teammates that are talking trash or pulling something out of you that you might not week in and week out -- yeah, or giving you a hard time.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It's actually been great. The vice captains we have are definitely trying to get into our wallets and in our heads, and that's like something you normally don't get.

I think a lot of us have played a lot of practice rounds, a lot of rounds together at home, not at home, wherever. So we kind of know the vibe. Like that's the same. So we know who is the goofball. We know who is the serious guy. We are all ready to play matches.

But it's the vice captains, I think, that are kind of putting us out there and giving us a little bit of a nudge. If you need that little nudge to say, hey, wake up, even though it's Wednesday, yesterday was Monday, Tuesday, these guys are pushing us in the right direction.

It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they are able to read everyone on our team and say, hey, this guy needs a little bit of a pick-me-up and push you and a little poke. I give a lot of credit to Keegan on his choices for vice captains. They have done a tremendous job so far to say, hey, let's go out there.

Q. So boundaries are a little bit different this week than other weeks?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, the things we are saying and doing don't normally happen on a regular Tuesday.

Q. Has it been nice to, for lack of a better term, veg out and focus on this event rather than competing week after week after week, especially the grind you had over the last few tournaments?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah. Like I said, there's a weird buildup. We all went to go play Napa. Used that as obviously we wanted to play well and win Napa but uses it as a buildup.

But yeah, when you're practicing for something that's in three, four weeks, versus every week, you're kind of resetting and saying, how do I need to prep for this event and what do I need to do for this golf course.

You give yourself that time and that breath of fresh air some days where you're like, okay, let's go into tomorrow, reset, do that. And then once you show up here, it's full go. You don't really want to be tweaking too much. You don't want to be trying to find too many things. Because when you step on that first tee and you feel your hand shaking and it's hard to tee it up, your thought doesn't really go to a swing thought I had Monday on the range.

You really have to figure out how to be able to balance those two and use that nervous energy and be able to step up and say, I'm going to hit this cut off the tree and find the fairway.

Q. This tournament brings out a lot of emotion that sometimes you don't know players have. Of the somewhat emotionless players you have on your team --

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I thought you asked this two weeks ago.

Q. I did not. Which one would you like to see lose it the most? Which one would make you most curious to see what it does?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Can you name the emotionless players on the team?

Q. Cantlay, Cameron Young, Harris English --

COLLIN MORIKAWA: We've seen emotion out of Cantlay here.

Q. Yes, you did. All right, throw him out.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Okay. I would love to see Cam Young just throw a massive fist pump in someone's face. I would love it. I mean, home state, home crowd, red, white and blue, played on the Junior Ryder Cup.

He's a fiery competitor. I've known Cam for a long time. He's been very stoic, right. We're deep competitors. Whether you see that or not through the TV or through watching us play, he wants to whoop some butt. Yeah, I would love to see a nice little putter raise, undercut, fist-pump.

Q. Just putter raise?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: No, combined. Maybe. I don't know if he'll do it. He didn't even smile after he won. So I'm hoping. Fingers crossed. That's my forecast.

Q. When you say your vice captains are trying to get in your wallet, what does that look like?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Like the amount?

Q. No. Who is trying to get in your wallet and how are they trying to do so?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Sneds is definitely trying to get in our wallet. Kis is talking smack.

Q. Are these just prop bets?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I've had a lot of prop bets. I've had a lot of fairway bets, birdie bets.

Q. Are you in the red or the black so far?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Depends who. I'm up on Sneds but not by much. Xander is taking the cake this week. I'm positive on Sneds. Sneds is the main one that I think we all love to pick on and we love to have him as our bank.

Q. He's become the mascot, punching bag?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Correct.

Q. Sounds great.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, it's wonderful for us.