Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge is AmateurGolf.com’s 2017 California Player of the Year for the second straight time.
The 20-year-old Morikawa, a junior at Cal, captured the award by finishing first in a point system based on major national and state amateur events throughout the course of the year.
“It feels great,” Morikawa said on the Cal Athletics website. “It is a great feeling to finally close it out especially after so many close finishes. Learning how to win is very difficult and now I’ll not only be able to draw from experience with solid finishes but from this win as well.”
The highlight of Morikawa’s season was his victory in the Northeast Amateur, where he held off Shintaro Ban of San Jose and Theo Humphrey by two strokes at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rhode Island.
Morikawa recorded his first college victory with the Golden Bears in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.
In addition, he finished second four times, losing a playoff to Grant Hirschman of the University of Oklahoma in the Southern Highlands Collegiate while playing for Cal, and in three amateur events.
Morikawa lost another playoff to Braden Thornberry his title defense at the Sunnehanna Amateur in June, finished second to Cameron Champ of Sacramento in the Trans-Mississippi Championship at Prairie Dunes in July, and was runner-up to Dylan Meyer in the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational in October.
Morikawa had five other top-10 finishes for Cal, including third at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii, fifth at the Ka’anapali Collegiate in Hawaii, sixth at the Pacific 12 Championship, seventh at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate in Mexico, and ninth at the Alister Mackenzie Invitational.
For his college performances, he was selected Division I PING First-Team All-American, Division I PING All-Region and first-team All-Pac 12.
In August, he reached the final 16 in the U.S. Amateur Championship at Riviera and a month later he won all four of his matches to help the United States win the Walker Cup at Los Angeles Country Club.
Last year, Morikawa won the Sunnehanna Amateur and was second in first professional event, the Air Capital Classic on the Web.com Tour.
Morikawa finished first in the California Player of the Year standings with 7,450 points, followed by Ban at 7,335, Camp with 6,800, Norman Xiong of Canyon Lake at 6,750 and Justin Suh of San Jose at 6,450.
The only other player to win the award two straight years was Patrick Cantlay in 2010 and 2011, while other winners were Bryson DeChambeau in 2015, Beau Hossler in 2014, Max Homa in 2013, Michael Kim in 2012, Rickie Fowler in 2008, Jamie Lovemark in 2007 and Bob Niger in 2006.
