After his recent run-in with certain media members, Collin Morikawa is not backing down, if anything he's doubling down as he stood his ground during his Masters press conference at Augusta National.
And although he's standing by his recent comments, far from wanting to speak to the media less, Morikawa actually wants, and feels he deserves, to have more regular coverage.
The Morikawa saga started when he opted not to talk to the media after his near miss at the Arnold Palmer Invitational saying he was too emotional and upset at not winning the tournament.
The Californian's "I don't owe anyone anything" statement at The Players Championship drew criticism among some media personalities, prompting him into a sharp response.
"To the Brandel Chamblees, to the Paul McGinleys, to the Rocco Mediates of the world, I don't regret anything I said," Morikawa retorted at Sawgrass.
And now at Augusta, the two-time Major champion has questioned why the media have made a big deal out of him not speaking to them on that one occasion when usually he's not the centre of their attention.
As he explained why he stood by his comments, Morikawa said he thought the media should try to speak to him more often rather than criticize the one time he didn't.
"Look, I said it in my second media thing. I could have said it differently. But I stand by what I said. I was in the moment," Morikawa said ahead of The Masters.
"We talk about giving people space to be who they are, and at that time, it was for me to be who I was, and I didn't want to be around anyone. I didn't even want to be around my wife. I said hi to her after, we hugged, and I just went straight to the locker room.
"I think there needs to be a balance and an ebb and flow between everything. I do want to be here for you guys, but here's the thing: I've been in the top 5 in the world before, and people don't come up to me and ask me questions. If you guys - you can't just ask me when I'm playing well."
So for Morikawa the issue is him getting criticism for skipping one media engagement when he's not getting the regular coverage he feels he deserves.
"You guys should be asking the top 10 players every single week, every single day, and just document it," he added. "Then you get a sense of who we are and you get a flow of how that comes to be.
"But if you're only asking me - look, I've been in the top 5 for however long in my career, there's plenty of times where media doesn't ask me. There's a balance, right? If you guys don't want to ask me, it's not my job to go out and tell you my story.
"Sometimes it is, but you do that through social media, you do that through playing well, winning tournaments. But not everyone is like that."
"I stand by what I said."
Collin Morikawa addresses the media access debate he's found himself at the center of this season:"There needs to be a balance and an ebb and flow between everything ... you can't just ask me when I'm playing well." https://t.co/3ub1lkdg9I pic.twitter.com/EJ6j5W1TLrApril 8, 2025
