‘The body is all off’: Battling back injury, Collin Morikawa exits Northern Trust early

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Collin Morikawa, the regular-season FedExCup points leader, will be heading home after missing the cut at the postseason opener.

Morikawa followed an opening 3-over 74 with a 70 on Friday and revealed after his round that he had been slowed this week by an ailing back, which he originally injured during the first round of the Olympic golf competition.

“That’s gone. It was healing through Memphis [at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational], but I was hitting these slap-cuts and then Wednesday of last week I pinched [a nerve] in my back, it was completely different,” said Morikawa, who didn’t practice at all last week before heading to The Northern Trust.

Morikawa said he struggled off the tee at Liberty National and wasn’t able to find any rhythm with his swing.

“I felt like Bubba [Watson] today, my feet felt like they were aiming 90 yards left and then I’d hit my normal cut for 5 yards. The timing is all off, the body is all off, I’ve got some work to do,” he said.

Full-field scores from The Northern Trust

Morikawa also said he considered not playing the playoff opener. “Monday was interesting because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to swing,” he said. But his back seemed to improve with each day, and he was confident heading into Thursday’s first round.

“I felt like I was OK, but once you tee it up on Thursday you figure out what the real issues are,” Morikawa said.