World No. 4 Collin Morikawa splits from longtime caddie

April 30 - World No. 4 Collin Morikawa has split with J.J. Jakovac, his only caddie since turning professional in 2019 and winning six times on the PGA Tour, including two majors.
Jakovac confirmed the news, which was first reported Tuesday by SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, in a text message to Golfweek.
Morikawa, 28, has already found a replacement, veteran caddie Joe Greiner, according to reports. Greiner became available after choosing to part ways with close friend Max Homa in early April. Morikawa's next event is the Truist Championship from May 8-11 in Philadelphia.
Greiner filled in for Justin Thomas' injured caddie Matt "Rev" Minister at the Masters and at the RBC Heritage, which Thomas won for his first tour victory in nearly three seasons. Thomas, No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking, said the arrangement was temporary until Minister recovered from his ailing back.
Morikawa's six years with Jakovac included victories at the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship. Morikawa last won at the Zozo Championship in October 2023.
He has finished second twice in eight events this year (The Sentry in January, the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March). For his career, Morikawa has 11 runner-up finishes, two thirds, 29 top-fives and 44 top-10 placings while making 109 of 129 cuts.
Morikawa and teammate Kurt Kitayama missed the cut last weekend at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Record

an hour ago

• Daily Record

Gary Lineker nicked my job at the BBC and we haven't spoken in 20 years

Steve Rider has been left unimpressed by Lineker's career with the Beeb which came to an end earlier this year Steve Rider has acknowledged that he hasn't spoken to Gary Lineker for a long time and harbours resentment over being replaced by the ex-Match of the Day host for BBC golf coverage. Rider, who's embarking on retirement after 45 years in national television, including recent work on ITV4's British Touring Car Championship, has been an iconic figure in sports broadcasting. His extensive career includes coverage of major events such as Olympic Games, Rugby World Cup, F ormula One - notably Ayrton Senna's tragic accident at Imola - and the Champions League working with both ITV and BBC. ‌ Beginning his career at ITV, Rider switched to the BBC where he served nearly two decades before heading back to ITV in 2005. While at the BBC, Rider was the principal golf presenter, covering prestigious tournaments like the Ryder Cup, the Open and the Masters. ‌ His departure saw a surprising choice in former England footballer Lineker to become the new face of BBC golf, which disappointed Rider substantially. It wasn't until 2015, following Lineker's controversial comments labelling the RandA 'pompous' and suggesting they saw themselves as 'superior beings', that Rider decided to publicly voice his opinions, reports the Mirror. Speaking to the Golf Paper, Rider gave his blunt assessment: "I hold Gary Lineker in the highest regard as a football presenter, but his reflections on his experiences as a golf presenter need a huge reality check. "For four years, the RandA and most other observers knew that Gary was the wrong man in the wrong job. Hazel Irvine has just delivered once again at the Open presentation skills of the highest quality. Not many people can do that and Gary certainly came up short. "Roger Mosey, the head of sport, knew Gary was a golf fanatic and was further encouraged by Gary apparently volunteering for the Masters vacancy within a few minutes of my exit from Television Centre. ‌ "But if Mosey thought long and hard before offering Gary the golf job, it's even more baffling. Match of the Day is scripted and rehearsed. Golf presentation, especially at Augusta, is seat of the pants, unpredictable and demanding." Rider hasn't spoken to Lineker since then, as reported by The Telegraph. Now the 75 year old has given his opinion on Lineker's recent departure from the BBC. Lineker hosted his last Match of the Day programme last month. He was anticipated to leave next year, after the World Cup, but his exit was pushed forward following an Instagram post criticising Zionism, accompanied by an image of a rat. Lineker has claimed he wasn't aware of the historical context of rats being used to portray Jews in anti-Semitic imagery. "To put forward his opinions so energetically, you need to step outside the framework of the BBC," Rider asserts. "That message was never convincingly conveyed to him by the BBC, and that's where they are at fault. He needed people looking after him before he pressed the button on some fairly volatile retweets. "He needed to be saved from himself. So, there was a kind of inevitability about it."

Daily Mirror

2 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

'Gary Lineker stole my BBC job - he was wrong man and we haven't spoken since'

Steve Rider is hanging up his microphone after a long career in sports broadcasting, but the former BBC and ITV presenter has taken aim at Gary Lineker on his way out Steve Rider admits he hasn't spoken to Gary Lineker for years and still resents being replaced by the former Match of the Day presenter on the BBC's golf coverage. Rider is heading into retirement after 45 years on national television, having most recently hosted coverage of the British Touring Car Championship on ITV4. He has also covered the Olympic Games, the Rugby World Cup, Formula One - famously covering Ayrton Senna's death at Imola - and the Champions League during his time with ITV and the BBC, becoming widely known as one of the safest names in sports broadcasting. ‌ Rider started his career at ITV before moving to the BBC, spending nearly two decades with the corporation before returning to ITV in 2005. During his tenure with the Beeb, he served as the BBC's lead golf presenter, covering major tournaments including the Ryder Cup, the Open and the Masters. ‌ But when he departed, former England star Lineker was the surprise choice to be the new face of golf a decision that left Rider unimpressed. He stayed silent on the subject until 2015, when Lineker infamously described the R&A as 'pompous' and accused them of feeling like 'superior beings'. It prompted a stinging response from Rider. In an interview with the Golf Paper, Rider stated: "I hold Gary Lineker in the highest regard as a football presenter, but his reflections on his experiences as a golf presenter need a huge reality check. "For four years, the R&A and most other observers knew that Gary was the wrong man in the wrong job. Hazel Irvine has just delivered once again at the Open presentation skills of the highest quality. Not many people can do that and Gary certainly came up short. "Roger Mosey, the head of sport, knew Gary was a golf fanatic and was further encouraged by Gary apparently volunteering for the Masters vacancy within a few minutes of my exit from Television Centre. "But if Mosey thought long and hard before offering Gary the golf job, it's even more baffling. Match of the Day is scripted and rehearsed. Golf presentation, especially at Augusta, is seat of the pants, unpredictable and demanding." ‌ Rider hasn't spoken to Lineker since then, as reported by The Telegraph. Now the 75 year old has had his say on Lineker's recent exit from the BBC. Lineker presented his final Match of the Day last month. He had been expected to leave the company next year, after the World Cup, but saw his permanent departure brought forwards, following an Instagram post that saw him criticise Zionism with a post featuring an image of a rat. Lineker insisted he was unaware of the historical use of rats to represent Jews in anti-semitic propaganda. 'To put forward his opinions so energetically, you need to step outside the framework of the BBC,' says Rider. 'That message was never convincingly conveyed to him by the BBC, and that's where they are at fault. He needed people looking after him before he pressed the button on some fairly volatile retweets. "He needed to be saved from himself. So, there was a kind of inevitability about it.'

Telegraph

2 hours ago

• Telegraph

Tommy Fleetwood ready to shed ‘$25m loser' tag and stick it back to the Americans

Is Tommy Fleetwood at last to shed 'The $25 million Loser' tag cruelly bestowed by cynical American fans? Certainly, the Englishman has never enjoyed such an advantage going into the final round of a PGA Tour tournament as he has at the Travelers Championship. Fleetwood is on 15-under, three shots clear of Keegan Bradley and Russell Henley after a brilliant third-round 63 at TPC River Highlands at Connecticut. It is fair to say the Signature Event - complete with its $3.6 million (£2.7 million) winning cheque - is his to lose. He has not missed a fairway in 21 holes and his putter is obliging as well, as evidenced by the 66-footer he holed for a birdie on the par-three fifth. Indeed with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler on eight behind after a two-over 72 - he started Saturday sharing the lead with Fleetwood - and Rory McIlroy also on seven-under following a 68, the extremely popular 34-year-old may not get a better chance of ending his drought on US soil. And, of course, silencing his Uncle Sam doubters. Fleetwood will pass the $30m mark in PGA Tour earnings even if he does not prevail. Nobody has banked so much on the circuit without lifting silverware. In 149 events he has racked up five runners-up placings and 41 top 10s - the latter the most of any player without a win on the Tour since 1983. It would be overdue and ecstatically welcomed if only for the supporters around the world who have seen the Merseysider triumph seven times on the DP World Tour and establish himself as a European Ryder Cup stalwart. For his part, Fleetwood has always taken the Stateside ribbing in good-natured fashion and continued to do so when quizzed about his void after a sublime afternoon that featured no bogeys, five birdies and his third eagle in his last two rounds. 'I don't know, I'm on top of a lot of stats charts for players that haven't won on the PGA Tour - and to be a No 1 at something is always nice,' he replied when asked if he wants to remove the Starred-and-Striped monkey off his back. 'Yeah, of course I would love to win on the PGA Tour. I think it's an element of your career that everybody wants, and I of course want it. This year, I've not really been in contention. So this is like my first real chance, so I'm really excited about it.' As the world No 6, Henley is probably the biggest threat to Fleetwood, standing at 17th in the rankings, although Bradley will likely receive the backing of the home support. Bradley is the US Ryder Cup captain for this year's showdown in New York and if he comes through on Sunday he will put himself into contention to make his own side. That would present him and Team USA with a huge headache, just three months before the match. There has not been a player-captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer 62 years ago.