Finishes second to Russell Henley by a shot at Bay Hill, still chasing first win since 2023

Across the last two seasons, Collin Morikawa has recorded nine top-five finishes on the PGA TOUR. The two-time major champion is playing some of the most consistent golf of his career – and at age 28, there’s ample runway ahead.

One caveat: He’s still chasing his first win in that span.

Morikawa suffered another close call Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, finishing runner-up to Russell Henley by one stroke at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Morikawa led Henley by a stroke into Sunday’s final round and stayed ahead for most of the afternoon, but the tournament swung on Henley’s chip-in eagle at the par-5 16th hole, which propelled the Georgia alum from one behind to one ahead.

Both players closed par-par; Morikawa couldn’t convert a 27-foot birdie try from just behind the par-4 18th green that would have forced overtime in Orlando.

Morikawa saw plenty of good at Bay Hill, quickly flipping the script on his tournament history after back-to-back missed cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2023 and 2024. He led the field in driving accuracy (41 of 56 fairways) and ranked fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. The only area of his game not at an elite level was on the greens, as he ranked 36th in SG: Putting.

He didn’t miss any short putts Sunday, but he was stuck in neutral after a hole-out birdie from a greenside bunker at the par-4 first hole. He carded just two birdies against two bogeys across the final 17 holes, and he couldn’t convert a series of 10- to 15-foot putts (he was 1-for-7 from that range on Sunday).

Morikawa heads to THE PLAYERS Championship seeking his first TOUR victory since the Baycurrent Classic in fall 2023. It’s not for lack of opportunity. He finished runner-up at last year’s Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and the TOUR Championship (falling to world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler on both occasions), and he opened 2025 with a runner-up finish at The Sentry.

He’s one of golf’s most consistent players, currently No. 4 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He said Saturday that his iron game is as sharp as it’s been since 2021 – strong words for a player who ranked top three on TOUR in SG: Approach the Green in both 2022 and 2023. He feels like he’s trending in all facets.

“I was sick in February, so I just never felt like I had complete control of the golf game, didn't quite know where the ball was going, couldn't get the feels right,” Morikawa said after Saturday’s third round at Bay Hill. “But the past two weeks I felt like I've put in a lot of good work, and it's nice to see it.

“I look back at last year and it never felt like I had my game to just go out and just play golf. I felt like I was always kind of, you show up on Sunday, and not that I was guessing, but you still were fighting something and trying to just make it work. It's hard to win like that.”

He feels ready to win. But his return to the winner’s circle will have to wait another week.