A week before the second major championship of the year, one major winner has made a change that he is hoping will lead to sudden success. Collin Morikawa is switching to caddie Joe Greiner, who recently split with Max Homa and subbed in for Justin Thomas en route to his win at the RBC Heritage. It will only be Morikawa's second caddie while being a pro as it seems he has parted ways with J.J. Jakovac.
Despite being one of the top players on tour since he turned pro in 2019, the 28-year-old has not won since the ZOZO Championship in 2023. Now with this move, he is hoping that he can turn things around and allow him to clutch another trophy.
He has been close in other tournaments but has yet to close the gap. Last year, he had two top 10s in majors with The Masters and the PGA Championship. However, the hope would be that Greiner can help end the winless drought the same way he did for Thomas.
Despite Greiner being inserted as his caddie due to an injury to Thomas's normal caddie, Matt Minister, it led to Thomas first win in almost three years at the RBC Heritage two weeks ago. Morikawa can hope that he has the same kind of fortune turning to Greiner. For Greiner, it's been a huge change of pace after caddying for Homa, who has taken a step back recently.
Collin Morikawa admits caddie change wasn't an easy decision
"Everything looked good," Morikawa said to Dan Rapaport of Skratch. "[But] sometimes, you know on the golf course things just don't feel right. It wasn't an easy talk and I hope all the best. I hope guys are lining up for him because, if you look at his resume [and] look at what we've done just simply over the past six years, it's incredible."
Caddie changes can lead to sometimes sudden success, such as Thomas winning the RBC Heritage with Greiner. In addition, Lauren Coughlin on the LPGA Tour switched caddies a year ago and led to her most successful season on the tour, winning twice in 2024.
With Morikawa's competitive nature, it should not come as a shock that he made the decision. Last year and the beginning part of 2025, he's had four runner-up finishes. He burst onto the scene in 2019 winning six times early on, but has not been victorious on Sunday in nearly two years now.
Morikawa and Greiner will be paired together for the first time at the Truist Championship next week in Philadelphia.