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Collin Morikawa's wife delivers couple's first baby; he dishes on back

The last time Collin Morikawa played in the RBC Canadian Open was in 2019, when he made his professional debut. He’s won two majors and seven times on the PGA Tour and established himself as one of the best ballstrikers in the world. This week, the 29-year-old former Cal Bear returns north of the border as a proud papa for the first time.

He and wife Kat welcomed their first child recently and Morikawa said he’s adjusting to the joys of parenthood.

“I can stare at my little one just non-stop and kind of forget about what else is going on. I know at the same time I still have a job to do when I'm out here and that's what's great kind of being back,” he said on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of the RBC Canadian Open. “But at the same time, when I'm out there playing, you're kind of playing a little bit differently, your mind's in a different spot. I think I'm a lot more positive out there and hopefully I can kind of just allow my body to relax and go out and play golf and enjoy it again.”

After an impressive victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Morikawa’s body has been a question mark ever since he withdrew one hole into the Players Championship with a back injury. He has finished inside the top 10 in half the events he’s played in this year, but the world No. 10 said the lingering back issue is still a work in progress.

More: Collin Morikawa still has trust issues heading into PGA Championship

“It still hadn't felt that comfortable,” he said, referring to his last start three weeks ago at the PGA Championship. “So, it was nice to take a full reset. And just focus on other things going on in life.”

He added: “I wish the body was a little bit better, but it's just building in this trust. It's going to take some time. It's going to be hopefully tomorrow where everything feels a little bit more relaxed. But I'm still a little bit on edge just because I don't want it to happen again. I'm doing the right steps to prevent it, but when it happens like that it's in a sense a little bit of trauma that you just kind of have to deal with.”

Morikawa withdrew from the Memorial Tournament, a place where he’s had a lot of success, and said it was tough to watch it on TV. He’s looking at this week as an opportunity to test out his swing under competitive conditions ahead of next week’s U.S. Open.

“We’re checking the right boxes,” he told Golf Channel. “There's still a trust factor that I'm looking for that I'm trying to find this week.”

And perhaps a few extra winks too.

“I kind of took it for granted on the sleep thing. And that's a real thing,” he said. “I won't push it on my wife that I'm getting some great sleep out here. But your body gets used to taking 50-minute naps and learning how to run off that.”

Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Collin Morikawa returns to golf as a new father

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