‘The PGA Tour Is Where I Belong’ - Morikawa Dismisses Rumoured Saudi League

Collin Morikawa has thrown his support behind the PGA Tour as rumours of a Saudi Golf League grow. The 25-year-old is in his hometown of Los Angeles preparing for this week’s Genesis Invitational. Speaking ahead of the tournament, he dismissed the reported league, explaining that competing on the PGA Tour is a fullfillment of a lifelong ambition.

“I’m all for the PGA Tour. I’ve been a pro for two-and-a-half years. My entire life I’ve thought about the PGA Tour, I’ve thought about playing against Tiger, beating his records, whatever, something that might not even be breakable, but I’ve never had another thought of what’s out there, right? I’ve never thought about anything else, it’s always been the PGA Tour.”

World No.2 Morikawa is the latest big name to rule out joining the reported league, adding to a list including Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka. Nevertheless, Morikawa thinks the discussion is shining a light on how the PGA Tour can improve.

“Has it opened up things for us as professional golfers to open up things for the PGA Tour to look at what to do better? Absolutely. We’ve seen a lot of changes, some good, some bad, some that are still going to be amended. Right now, you look at the best players and they’re all sticking with the PGA Tour and that’s where I kind of stay and that’s where I belong. I’m very happy to be here. After missing a lot of the West Coast Swing, I decided to go over there and play on the DP World Tour. I miss being out on the PGA Tour. I miss seeing these guys, I miss playing out here and I just want to compete against the best in the world and right now, that’s where it is.”

Despite offering assurances of his commitment to the PGA Tour, Morikawa admitted that he’s open to finding out more about the reported league but explained that, to date, that information hasn’t been forthcoming. He said: “The only way I can start thinking about other tours, other leagues, whatever you call it, I need concrete evidence. I need to be able to see a sheet in front of me and know what’s out there, right? And as of now, I don’t know what’s out there. If there were more details, maybe I would have thought about it more, maybe I would have given it more of a decision and I would have had to sit down and ask more questions, but it’s hard to ask questions when you’re not getting answers."

Morikawa went on to say that despite his satisfaction on the PGA Tour he’s still interested in finding out what develops, but that he remains sceptical. “We've all heard rumours of this date, this date, in the future. I'm ready for it. Why not, right? Like we'll call them out, like what are they waiting for? I don't know. I saw something this morning that said someone had an interview with a player and there's other things said about players signing up. There still have been no names. Once again, we go back to evidence, right? Can we see concrete evidence of what’s going on? If we can, then people can make decisions. It’s an unknown, it’s a hidden thing. For me, it’s not enough.”