After switching putters between rounds, Collin Morikawa contending at Masters

Players switch putters all the time. Not usually between rounds, however. But Collin Morikawa brought out a new flatstick for the second round of the Masters, and the switch seemed to work. It has led him into Sunday's final pairing at the Masters.

After opening in 1-under 71 at Augusta National with a new mallet putter, he used a familiar blade for the second and third rounds, carding rounds of 70 and 69 respectively to earn a spot in Sunday's final pairing. Morikawa has carded a three-round total of 6-under 210, one back of 54-hole leader Scottie Scheffler.

"I came into this week not putting well or not feeling comfortable with the putter that I had in my hands," Morikawa said after the third round. "Went full 180, switched to the mallet, switched to the Spider, and was feeling great, to be honest. I felt really, really good. Felt better than I've kind of felt all year.

"But sometimes you don't know how it's going to feel in the tournament. Through (the opening round, which extended into Friday morning) ... I just wanted to get the putter out of my hands because I couldn't get comfortable with it. And thankfully I had a backup ... a copy of what I've putted with in the past, pretty much the past year and a half. Felt like old times and nice to have that in the bag again."

Morikawa is 5-for-5 in made cuts at the Masters, including a fifth-place showing in 2022 and a T10 last year. He'll have a chance Sunday to fare even better, perhaps earn his first green jacket and third major title. If he does, the unconventional mid-event putter switch will go down in history.

Early in the week, Morikawa was spotted testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet equipped with a short plumber’s neck, the same style used by Scottie Scheffler to win last month’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship.

Morikawa had used a blade putter throughout the year, making the change to a mallet rather surprising. The California native began the season with a TaylorMade TP Soto blade-style putter, which he also used throughout 2023, but he debuted a new Logan Olson prototype blade, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Morikawa stayed with the Logan Olson putter for his next two events, THE PLAYERS and the Valero Texas Open, but he arrived at the Masters with the TaylorMade Spider Tour X in tow.

After using the new mallet in practice rounds, the Par 3 Contest and Thursday’s first round, Morikawa switched back into his trusty TaylorMade TP Soto blade for the second round. The switch seemed to work, as he shot Friday’s second-lowest score and he ranked among the leaders in Strokes Gained: Putting, according to Data Golf.

He then was one of only two players to break 70 in Saturday's third round, his 3-under 69 bettered by only Chris Kirk (68). His play on the greens was perhaps uneven at times, but the same could be said for the field at large.

"Didn't make the putts I necessarily wanted today," Morikawa said Saturday. "Missed a few out there, but everything still feels comfortable. That's the biggest thing is feeling comfortable going into tomorrow."