DOUG MILNE: We would like to welcome Collin Morikawa to the interview room here at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba.

Collin, you're making your first start here at Mayakoba. We talked a little bit on the way in, you were showing some pictures of the place you were staying. Just obviously a place that is certainly neat to you so far. Just a few thoughts on the decision to come here and what you think so far?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I wanted to add an extra event in the fall and just couldn't figure it out. Then a bunch of people said this place was amazing, not only the golf course but the resort and kind of everything about it.

When I look back at kind of my career not just as a professional but as an amateur, in college, the couple times we were able to come to Mexico, we played in Cabo a few times, it was always really fun. I compare it to like playing in Hawaii, that you do a lot of business when you're out on the golf course but you're able to really separate yourself and enjoy the time away. Yeah, I've got a nice view out of my room and I plan on enjoying that as well.

DOUG MILNE: How much can you take away from the vibe of a place like this that's more relaxed, it's a good time of year? Are you able to draw upon that?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, a little bit. But this year's been fairly stressful, a little frustrating at the same time. I think some guys are definitely taking it easy and I've kind of ramped it up just trying to kind of figure things out. I want to finish this fall on the best of foot forward as possible. That's why I come to these tournaments, is to come out here and play well and hopefully win. That's been a big thing is just this year hasn't really had any of those opportunities yet.

Q. Collin, obviously given the time of the year, it's November, as you look back on the year that was, can you maybe expand a bit on your season as a whole, maybe what was good, what was maybe not so good? How would you kind of assess 2022 overall?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, a lot of searching and a lot of just kind of guessing, right? Ever since I made the trip out to Dubai and played the DP World and played Abu Dhabi, Dubai earlier in the year, things just never felt good. Just kind of was searching for that game, searching for just kind of a normal.

The problem is when I search is like I search for perfection, right? We're not just searching for the ball to just kind of do something all right, but when you're playing well, like all you want to do is just kind of push it up there, you know it's going to get in the hole and you're going to make birdies.

It was a lot more stressful this year. I've just been kind of trying to figure out what was wrong when it was simply just kind of a body thing and just the way my body was moving. Unfortunately, it took seven, eight months throughout the year to at least find that, but that's on me. Everything is on me just to know what's going on. I've got a great team around me, but that's the best thing is that, you know, I still have to be aware of what I'm doing. I just wasn't kind of being able to make sure everything was where I wanted it to be. It's a grind, but that's what's great. Even though we are kind of heading towards this offseason, this fall area, I'm putting a lot of pieces together and putting a lot of work in to make sure this kind of next '23 is going to be as best as ever.

Q. You talked about your body a little bit. Have you changed any of your physiotherapy or any of your effort in the gym or anything like that?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: To be honest, I think it's just getting old. Yeah, no, it's just getting old. I mean, man, like I drank way more in college than I ever do now, but apparently when you get older, your body just moves differently.

I still feel great, like everything feels great, everything moves great, but it's just not as clean as it was. And the maintenance I have to do now is just a little bit more. It doesn't mean I need to do anything crazy, I'm not changing anything really, it's just getting my body to where I need it to be.

You know, say last year I didn't really have to focus on it, but when I look back and you think about how much travel I've done over the past three and a half years, it's a lot. It doesn't stop. I love it, but travel takes a toll on your body and it takes a toll on you and you've got to be able to kind of work your way through that and that's what the best athletes are doing.

Q. Viktor, Viktor Hovland is obviously the two-time defending champ here. How hard is it to repeat on the PGA TOUR? How hard do you think that his effort has been over the last two years? How hard is it to do that?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: It's very hard. Yeah, I've actually never repeated at the same golf course, so I couldn't tell you, but it's very hard to defend a tournament.

Look, yeah, because you can go through a lot of the good shots you had from the previous year, but at the end of the day you're still hitting the same shot as everyone else and you've still got to make your putts, still got to hit your shots off the tee. But there's a lot to draw back on, which is always the best thing. When you're able to draw back on good moments, good memories, it helps a lot. It's big on your confidence.

Q. Collin, this year a lot of top-ranked guys have played in a bunch of fall events, THE CJ CUP and ZOZO, and this has a really strong field at the top. Next year, next fall, none of these events will be part of the FedExCup schedule. Do you see yourself playing some in the fall or can you shut it down for four months and feel like you're going to be ready in January to start up again?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I mean, I can't give you a definitive answer right now, I've never shut it down for four months. To me, that's a lot of time. And it's great, it's phenomenal because as athletes, like we talked about traveling for three and a half years, I mean, I haven't taken more than a month off I think of actual tournament golf. That doesn't mean I'm not practicing.

Yeah, I can definitely see myself playing in events wherever they are around the world or throughout the country in the U.S. We still, I still love to compete, right. And for me, when you compare it to junior golf, like junior golf is spread out, college golf is spread out, but when you have four months, I think it gives you opportunities to do new things, whether that be playing a couple events or go do other hobbies or go explore certain things in your life. It gives you that opportunity. That's what's going to be great.

But I still think a lot of guys will want to play because that's just our nature. Like we love -- it's weird, like being home is nice and I miss being home, but then when I'm home I miss being on the road. So I'm sure I'll miss be on airplanes and hotel rooms.

Q. Getting out to a couple events this fall, do you think that will take off some of the pressure in the new season that's shaping up in 2023 with the enhanced events and all that stuff, not having to play quite as often?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I mean, if you play well in the fall, yeah. I mean, that's the truth of it. You can play all, whatever, how many events are there, 10, nine, I don't know. You can play all of them and not play well and still be behind the eight ball.

I think for me, what I'm taking out, obviously the goal is to win, and I came here to win. The game's feeling good.

But for me, a lot of it is just to really build on this, what happened throughout this year in '22, and just come out swinging in '23. I'm going to use this kind of fall season no matter how it turns out just to kind of fire myself up for '23 and be ready come beginning of January.

Q. Collin, you studied at Cal, you got a lot of contact with the Mexican culture. Do you know anything about the Day of the Dead?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: A little bit. I don't know that much. I actually, and I actually grew up in Los Angeles, too, so Mexican culture's very big over there.

No. I did watch the Disney movie, Coco. I did watch that on a plane ride one time. No, I don't know too much, but it's on Thursday, right? Oh, tomorrow. Wow, sorry.

Q. Do you have any anecdote, a spooky one or funny one, around Halloween?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: I don't. To be honest, Halloween is probably one of my lease favorite --

Q. OK.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: -- holidays. I just, yeah. I was never a big one to dress up a ton and

candy was never like too appealing to me.

Q. You were talking about traveling. Does the travel get easier now when you open your window and see the Caribbean sea and see what Mayakoba has to offer?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, it's definitely worth it. It's a lot better than opening up your window and seeing just dirt. For me, it's just experiencing different parts of the world and I think that's what I've been very lucky with so far. You know, in the past three weeks I've been to Japan, South Carolina and now we're out here. Not many people can say they've done that in a three-, four-week span.

Every time I go to a new place I just want to take in as much as I can and just embrace the culture and embrace everything around me. I think that's what kind of -- that's why I love traveling is that just shows me a new part of the world. Growing up in Los Angeles, there's a lot of culture. There's a lot of culture even in San Francisco, right, but there's nothing like actually going to another country and going to a new city outside of the U.S. It's been amazing every time. Thankfully, I've had some really good experiences and hopefully we continue that.

Q. I know that you were talking that other players say wonderful things about this place. Are there any other tournaments that players talk about that you need to go and play there because it's amazing or is it only this because of the ocean?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Well, the ocean's a big part of it. Man, you put me on the spot, that's a tough one.

I don't really think so. That's like kind of a maybe. I mean, yeah, I think what's so great about when players come to a resort like this and they're able to stay near the beach and kind of do other activities is that you're forced to get away from the golf course. I think all great players have to do that. A lot of people have a hard time separating themself from like golf and what we do out there, because it is a tournament week, from just simply sitting on the beach.

Like you can sit on the beach. Sitting on the beach might be better for you this week than sitting on your bed and just watching a Netflix show, right? It's just taking it in and just enjoying where we are, right, and I think that's the best thing is just going out and getting some sun.

Q. And the last one for me, the World Cup is coming in a few weeks. Do you like soccer and do you have any predictions for the USA team?

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Oh, man, don't put me on the spot like this. Yeah, I love soccer, I like it, but I just, I don't follow it enough. But obviously I'm rooting for the U.S. to play well. I'm sure their odds are terrible. Sorry, sorry, U.S. team. We got U.S. jerseys at the Presidents Cup.

Q. (No microphone.)

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah. So I think I hit the best drive, but I -- apparently mine was the only one that I can kind of see through. So I actually couldn't see straight, I could only see left and right, but mine was the only one with eyeholes in it. But it was very hard because it was disgustingly sweaty and hot and muggy, but it was fun. I was actually amazed, a lot of people got like mine and Rory's and Tommy's all mixed up, probably because I actually made decent contact with mine. Tiger's was terrible, like he didn't even have a ball. What was that?

DOUG MILNE: All good? Well, Collin, thank you. We always appreciate your time.

COLLIN MORIKAWA: Thank you, guys.