Q. This is the best you felt about your game since when?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don't know, 2021. It felt pretty good. I like to think it felt good in certain places and the results don't show it. But, look, we were searching Tuesday afternoon. Ryan and I had a few putters out. I had a few things doing. Sometimes it takes that. I was going to treat Monday through Wednesday this week just as a kind of relaxing, get into it, game felt good enough to play well, and I went down this rabbit hole of just kind of -- I hit one bad shot in the practice round, tried to figure it out, was out on the range two more hours.
But the game does feel really good. Mentally I feel really good. Like I said yesterday, like J.J. told me end of Sunday last week, was just to enjoy it. It's hard to get here. It really is.
But at the same time I'm trying to win this tournament. So I know how to balance those things. It's always -- it's obviously nice to be in the final group heading into a weekend. So it's things that I enjoy, for sure.
Q. So was that mis-hit in the practice round a blessing in disguise because it led to the discovery that's led to this point?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, for sure. Sometimes just being out there when you don't realize that you're out there for that long of a period, but you find one thing that you hope works. I mean, I've done that for the past few years, hoping that we're going to find that one thing that clicks and right now, I'm going to stick with it. Why not?
Q. How do you feel about the position you've put yourself in going into the weekend?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, if I was going to tell myself I was going to be 16-under through two days, with my total score or whatever you want to call it, I would have taken that. Look, I think with wind's being down and this course, if you keep it in front of yourself it's obviously gettable. There's going to be low scores. There's going to continue to be low scores this weekend. Greens are starting to firm up. You're still going to see guys firing at pins. You have a few short holes that you have to take advantage of. The par-5s are very gettable.
It's not going to end at 16-under. There's going to be a lot more low scores, a lot more birdies made. I'm going to have to continue that heading into the next two days.
Q. When is the last time you thought about the money?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I really haven't. Look, I've been very fortunate to get off to a great start in my career and never had to really think about that. I've been lucky. It's weird this year, with all the designated events, next year signature events, it's always, everyone makes it about the money. But I really don't care. I would play these tournaments because I want to play against the best guys in the world. I want to win. And whether you get a dollar out of it or 10 million dollars out of it, a win's a win. Like, at the end of the day, the wins mean so much to myself that I would trade 'em all in for just another win. I would trade the money for another win and more majors. Because people don't understand how good it feels. That's what you dream of. That's what you desire to do. That's what you want to do. That's why you practice. Yeah, you just want the win.
Q. You mentioned 2021. You were so young when you were having all that success in 2021. What do you think you learned most about yourself these last two years?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I just love golf. I mean, it's been frustrating, but I truly love it. Because when you're in positions like this, when you're able to put yourself in contention, whether it's one round or two rounds or four rounds, that I just, I know I love being in these positions. I know that there's still 36 holes left to go and there's a lot of golf left to be played, but being in this position, it's, you know, you have to take that with heart. You got to take that up front. The best players in the world don't shy away from these moments.
We're still tied with the lead. There's a bunch of chasers right there. There's going to be a lot of low scores tomorrow, I promise you that. So we got to get ready. It's not going to be a breeze to just finish this off.
Q. So which are you more encouraged by, the quality of the good shots or the quality of the misses?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Both. The quality of the good shots are even better. But the quality of the misses are that much better. Like I said, like strokes gained will show that to say, okay, you're hitting it better. But people look at my numbers this year and say you're hitting it fine. But I really, the misses were just that much worse. No one could ever point that out unless you're actually there watching every shot.
Q. How many shots do you consider misses through two rounds this week?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Oh, a bunch. You're only hitting so many perfect shots. The first shot we hit today on 1 was near perfect. But unless it's really within a five-foot circle, most of the time they're misses here or there, nothing's perfect. But it's just bringing those things in a little bit better.
Q. Which first 36 holes feels better, Sony or, not Sony, Sentry or this week?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don't know. I think Sentry I went pretty low, too. I don't remember what I shot through 36. But they both feel great. I remember Sentry, I mean, look, I took a bunch of time off, it was my honeymoon, we got married in the fall. It was kind like show up and see how it goes, right. And sometimes you need that attitude when you play golf.
This has been three weeks of playoff, let's figure this out, how we can somehow win this thing. We've been able to put ourselves through 36 holes in that spot. It's about just focusing in on these next 36 holes, having this game plan that I've stuck with these first two days, sticking with that and adjusting if need be.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports