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19th Hole

‘I had to do it’ – Collin Morikawa explains decision to split with coach of 18 years

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Collin Morikawa has parted ways with his longtime coach. Rick Sessinghaus, who he had worked with for over 18 years.

The 26-year-old revealed the news on Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge, sharing with reporters that the split took place just before this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome.

“Right before the Ryder Cup, I let go of my long-time coach, Rick Sessinghaus for — we’ve been working for just over 18 years, which wasn’t easy,” Morikawa shared for the first time publicly on Tuesday during a press conference ahead of the Hero World Challenge, a 20-man unofficial event held at the Albany Club. “He’s more than just a coach, he’s one of my really good friends. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to, someone that’s been there for every step of my life essentially, not just in golf but just kind of living life, right?

“It wasn’t easy, and sometimes things happen like that. But 18 years is a long time. Not many relationships that I can say with a lot of people that I’ve had relationships for 18 years, and real relationships where I’m talking to them every week, right? So that wasn’t easy at all.”

As for the reasoning behind the decision, Morikawa stated that “what I saw kind of over the past two years wasn’t to my expectations.”

“I had to do it, I just felt like it was time to make a change at some point. What I saw kind of over the past two years wasn’t to my expectations and standards and goals what I wanted,” 

Morikawa is now working with swing coach Mark Blackburn, who also coaches Max Homa and Justin Rose. In his first event working with Blackburn, Morikawa won the Zozo Championship.

“Obviously, there’s no better way to start, but this is just the tip of the iceberg for us to kind of dig in and really know what we’re going to do,” said Morikawa.

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19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

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Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

  • 1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
  • 2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
  • T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
  • T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
  • T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
  • T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
  • T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
  • T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
  • T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
  • T9: Max Homa, $630,00
  • 11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
  • T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
  • T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
  • T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
  • T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
  • T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
  • T12: Jason Day, $427,500
  • T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
  • T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
  • T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
  • T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
  • T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
  • T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
  • T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
  • T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
  • T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
  • T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
  • T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
  • T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
  • T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
  • T30: Harris English, $146,250
  • T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
  • T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
  • T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
  • T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
  • T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
  • T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
  • T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
  • T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
  • T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
  • T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
  • T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
  • T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
  • T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
  • T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
  • 46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
  • 47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
  • 48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
  • T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
  • T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
  • 51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
  • 52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
  • 53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
  • 54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

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19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

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While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

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19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

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Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”

Tommy Fleetwood WITB 2026

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