Collin Morikawa stung Min Woo Lee at the Presidents Cup on Thursday and twisted the knife straight afterwards. Morikawa and his fellow United States Team competitor Sahith Theegala dispensed with Lee and Adam Scott in their four-ball showdown to put the International Team on the back foot.
On a dominant day for the Americans, Morikawa and Theegala turned a front-nine deficit into a spirited victory thanks to the latter’s stunning approach shot on the 18th, which left two feet for a decisive birdie.
The result helped the USA sweep the opening day 5-0, and Morikawa was in no mood to sympathise with his rivals after sending the rest of the world back to the drawing board.
Instead, he took a pointed swipe at Lee, nicknamed ‘The Chef’, on social media with a tweak to the phrase ‘let him cook’, which Morikawa fans say as a show of support for the 27-year-old.
Alongside a picture of himself and Theegala bumping fists on Instagram, Morikawa wrote: “Chef cooked. We ate.”
And it is not the first instance of shots being fired in each direction at this year’s Presidents Cup. Things also got heated between Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim on Thursday in a two-hole sequence which led to some criticising the latter for ‘disrespectful’ actions.
Kim reacted loudly to his 27-foot birdie putt on the seventh, only for Scheffler to halve the hole and shout: “What was that?”
Another exuberant celebration came from Kim when he made birdie on the very next hole. But the real controversy came when he made his way over to the ninth tee before even watching Scheffler’s attempt, which he ended up missing.
The duo played down the back-and-forth after the day’s action had concluded, but it certainly created extra motivation for each side to prevail by the end of the tournament.
Despite the apparent animosity, Morikawa claims that the American camp is full of positive vibes. “If people are freaking out, nervous, I think I’m just kind of the… I’m the stone cold, quiet, neutral guy, the dude going about my business who keeps everyone happy and lets them laugh around me,” he explained.
“Yeah, look, I think I bring a sense of ease around the team. Scottie is always there to keep a smile on your face. We have a lot guys on the team that honestly bring a lot of good, positive energy.
“You know, it sounds pretty cliche and cheesy to say, but you can kind of go up to anyone and have a good laugh and talk. That’s what’s great. Xander [Schauffele] definitely wins the MVP for kind of like class clown.”
