SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 14, 2026

Collin Morikawa

Waialae Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Collin Morikawa here at the Sony Open in Hawai'i. Making your third appearance at this event, first since 2021. How great is it to be back here?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I love it. I've taken this event off the past couple years and I miss it. It's a fun event. It's very different style of golf course than I think we play all year. Winds will be up this year.

For me, family ties to Hawai'i. Always good to be out here. Even the last couple years that I haven't played we came over for a couple days and hung out for vacation. Just an amazing island to be on.

Q. Can you speak a little deeper to those family ties you have here to Hawai'i?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, it all started in Lahaina on Maui. That is where my grandparents were born, that's where my great-grandparents lived, and, you know, pretty much grow up our entire lives.

It's awful to see kind of what has happened over the last let's call it three years with the fires, seeing the loss of Front Street, obviously us not being there. I know we provide probably a good amount of attention to the island and for that side of the island for Kapalua.

Hopefully we'll be back. The crowd out here, the fan, the culture, I love coming out here. Like I said, it's nice to be back at the Sony Open.

Q. And on the competition side, this is the first event of the 2026 season. Do you set goals for the year? What are you looking to accomplish in 2026?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, from a basic standpoint it would be to win again. It's been quite some time, and to kind of pull that back out and not just win once, but hopefully win multiple times.

With that there is a lot of things that go underneath that, a lot of processes and work that's been put in the offseason to hopefully just free up and go out and play some golf for 2026.

Q. So with all the talk and speculation about what might happen in the future with Kapalua and here also, there was some people were saying that it would weaken the field here. I'm looking at it, and looks like a stronger field. Had you already decided you were going to play here or did that weigh into your decision at all as far as to play into this event this year?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I told my agent last year when I had come over right after Maui that I think I wanted to play. So the plan from essentially a year ago, even though that was really, really far ahead, was to probably play the first two. Play Maui, play here. Obviously Maui went away; this was still in the schedule; why not? I love starting my season in the Hawai'i, get out of the cold.

So it's nice to be out here. It's a different vibe than most weeks. When you show up at Kapalua it's very different. We get carts for the practice rounds. Everyone is a little bit slower. This week you can tell like all the rookies are ready to go, all the guys are ready to play.

On this golf course, depending on where the wind is, you got to be making some birdies out there.

Q. Just like with all the uncertainty of the future of the PGA TOUR being in Hawai'i, how much more does that make you want to cherish the next few days here?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, you just got to appreciate where you are. It's hard to do that because our season, even they it's the beginning of the season, will go by very quickly. You play a lot of the same places you've been before.

You just share a little bit of gratitude and appreciation for the people that come out, the volunteers that are out here. The amount of people even through three days that have said, thanks for coming back, it means more than you know. For me, someone that has ties to Hawai'i you never want to see something go away for good.

It just makes you realize, stay present this week and enjoy it as much as you can and see what kind of memories we can make. Hopefully finally find a way to win on the islands out here.

Q. To that point, you mentioned just the different vibes for a tournament here in Hawai'i. What are the differences or similarities or just interactions with people here throughout the week compared to other tournaments throughout the season?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, just super friendly. A lot of people asked me where I've eaten. You don't really get that too often, but that's just the culture out here. That's how people live: very relaxed; all hanging out, all family.

That's what's nice. It feels comfortable to be back at a place I haven't been. Kind of forgot my bearings a little bit, but everyone has been so welcoming, it's made things a lot easier to settle in, especially being the first event of our year.

Q. On the other side of the coin about the proposed major changes to the schedule from blueprints and things that have been thrown around, what are some of the things you like about it?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: You know, I'll be honest, I haven't dug into it too much. I don't sit on any of the player boards to really know. All I hear is what you guys hear, so I haven't really given it much thought.

My biggest thing is how do I go out and accomplish my goals and play well this year. Hopefully that puts me in a good situation for '27 or '28. We'll have to wait and see for that.

Q. Very glad that you didn't have a TGL match this week. Can you talk about that? Looks like a lot of fun.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It's been amazing. The travel is a little far for someone who lives on the west coast, but when you're there it's a setting that you can't really describe as a golfer because we're so used to being outdoors and so used to having the pressure essentially in our own head.

But when you have the crowd around you, everyone, you can hear everyone right beside you, because it's essentially a stadium, there is a different style of pressure. You got two other guys, owners sitting in the owner's boxes. You want to perform well.

So it's a very different style of golf. You have to learn how to play into the screen. How to essentially chip and putt on the different surfaces.

It's so much fun. There is a lot of rhythm and momentum into that format that I think hopefully our team can get back on, especially after losing our first match.

Q. I just want to follow up on that. You played a lot of different sports as a kid growing up. With the TGL seems to have some elements different than golf because your trash talk game has to elevate a little bit. Seems like that's part of it. What were some of the sports you played as a kid other than golf?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Baseball, basketball, skied. You know, I think golf is able to teach a lot of kids a lot of great valuable lessons for later in life, but the team sports really allow them to grow I think when they're very young.

Having your kid -- even if they like golf having them play other sports, team sports, being around others, socializing, it's a huge aspect in life and a very valuable lesson in life that sometimes you don't get in golf.

I know we're having a lot more team junior golf leagues, but other sports like you're put into it. And that's the situation we're put in TGL, is like you have to be able to it interact with your teammates and kind of harping, like you said trash talk a little bit of the other team to see what fence can you push to where to maybe is a little too much or not enough to make a difference.

We're starting to hear that in football. You get to hear other athletes under the mic. That's probably what people want to hear. You don't get that in golf, because for us it's really just between us and our caddie.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you for the time. Play well this week.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Thank you.