In the wake of Tiger Woods' near-fatal car crash, the golf world gathered in quiet solidarity at the WGC-Workday Championship, where 24-year-old Collin Morikawa won by three shots and dedicated his victory to the man who first showed him what the game could be. Morikawa became only the second golfer in history to claim both a major and a WGC title before age 25 — the first being Woods himself — a symmetry that felt less like coincidence and more like the sport finding a way to honor its own. From a hospital bed in Los Angeles, Woods watched the tributes unfold on television and reached for his
Morikawa honors Woods with WGC win, girlfriend's dog sports red
Tiger Woods sustained a shattered right leg and extensive injuries to his right foot in a car crash and is recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Tiger means everything to me. I don't think we say thank you enough.
Mark
So Morikawa won the tournament, but the real story is how he did it—or what he was trying to say while doing it?
Mimi
Both, really. He won by three shots, which is a clean, decisive victory. But yes, the way he framed it matters. He was very deliberate about thanking Woods, about acknowledging that Woods is his hero and the reason he plays.
Luke
The shirt situation is interesting though. He wanted to wear red and black like everyone else, but it didn't arrive. So he wore black slacks instead. That's not quite the same as choosing to honor Woods—it's more like he made the best of a logistical failure.
Mimi
Fair point. But then he and his girlfriend put their dog in red. That feels intentional, not accidental.
Mark
Why does that matter? Why is a dog in a red shirt a meaningful tribute?
Mimi
Because it shows he found another way. He couldn't wear the shirt himself, so he made sure someone—something—in his immediate circle was wearing the color. It's personal, not performative.
Luke
Though we should note that Katherine Zhu posted it to Instagram. So it's personal *and* documented. That's not a criticism, just a fact about how these things work now.
Mark
What about the record he tied? Morikawa and Woods are the only two golfers to win a major and a WGC event before age 25?
Mimi
That's the real symmetry. He's not just honoring Woods; he's literally following the same path. He's doing what Woods did.
Luke
But we should be careful here. Morikawa is 24. Woods was younger when he did these things. So Morikawa has matched the achievement, but not necessarily on the same timeline. Still impressive, but different.
Mark
And Woods was watching from his hospital bed?
Mimi
He was home, actually. At Cedars-Sinai. He saw the tributes on television and tweeted his thanks. That's a powerful image—the injured player seeing his sport rally around him.
The Pulse
- Tiger Woods lies at Cedars-Sinai recovering from a shattered right leg and extensive foot injuries, casting a long shadow over the entire tournament weekend.
- Golfers across the tour coordinated red-and-black outfits in a rare, unified act of tribute — a silent statement that rippled from the first tee to the final green.
- Morikawa's own tribute shirt was lost in transit, forcing him to improvise: black slacks in Woods' style, and a Goldendoodle named Koa dressed in Sunday red by his girlfriend.
- Morikawa won by three shots and spoke plainly in the press tent — 'I don't think we say thank you enough' — turning a trophy moment into something more like a letter to a hero.
- Woods, watching from his hospital room, tweeted his gratitude to the golf community, signaling that the outpouring of support was reaching him exactly where he needed it.
In the wake of Tiger Woods' near-fatal car crash, the golf world gathered in quiet solidarity at the WGC-Workday Championship, where 24-year-old Collin Morikawa won by three shots and dedicated his victory to the man who first showed him what the game could be. Morikawa became only the second golfer in history to claim both a major and a WGC title before age 25 — the first being Woods himself — a symmetry that felt less like coincidence and more like the sport finding a way to honor its own. From a hospital bed in Los Angeles, Woods watched the tributes unfold on television and reached for his phone, moved by the sight of an entire tour dressed in his colors.
Collin Morikawa won the WGC-Workday Championship by three shots on Sunday, but the victory felt inseparable from the man it was quietly dedicated to. Tiger Woods — Morikawa's boyhood idol — was recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from a catastrophic car crash that had shattered his right leg and caused serious damage to his right foot. Morikawa had planned to wear red and black in tribute, as dozens of other tour players did that weekend, but his red shirt was lost somewhere in a Memphis warehouse. His agent offered a different kind of instruction: play the way Tiger would play with the lead. So Morikawa wore Woods' signature black slacks and let his golf speak.
The gestures around him were small but genuine. His girlfriend dressed their Goldendoodle, Koa, in Sunday red and posted it to Instagram — not a manufactured moment, but the kind of thing that happens when people find quiet ways to show they care.
In the press tent afterward, Morikawa said what many in the sport were feeling. He thanked Woods for being the reason he picked up a club at all, for showing him what was possible. 'I don't think we say thank you enough,' he told reporters. With that win, he joined an exclusive club — only the second golfer ever to win a major and a WGC event before turning 25. The first was Tiger Woods.
At Cedars-Sinai, Woods turned on the television and saw an entire tour dressed in his colors. He reached for his phone. 'It is hard to explain how touching today was,' he tweeted, thanking every golfer and every fan for helping him through. His medical team confirmed the procedures had gone well. The road ahead would be long, but in that moment, he had something to hold onto.
Collin Morikawa stood in the winner's circle at the WGC-Workday Championship on Sunday with a three-shot victory, but his mind was elsewhere—on the man who had shaped his entire approach to the game. Tiger Woods, his boyhood idol, was at home recovering from a catastrophic car crash that had shattered his right leg and caused extensive damage to his right foot. Morikawa wanted to honor him the way dozens of other golfers had that weekend, by wearing red and black, the colors Woods famously favored. But logistics had other plans.
The 24-year-old's red shirt never made it to the course. Stuck somewhere in transit through Memphis, the garment sat uselessly in a warehouse while Morikawa stood on the tee. His agent offered simple counsel: play the way Tiger would play with the lead. So Morikawa did something else instead. He pulled on Woods' signature black slacks and went to work, letting his golf do the talking.
After the final putt dropped, Morikawa made sure someone in his corner was wearing red. His girlfriend, Katherine Zhu, dressed their Goldendoodle, Koa, in the tribute color and posted the image to Instagram with two words: "Sunday red." The dog's presence at the tournament was a small, genuine gesture—not a manufactured moment, but the kind of thing that happens when people who care about each other find ways to show it.
In the press tent, Morikawa's words carried the weight of someone who understood what he was part of. "Tiger means everything to me," he told reporters. He acknowledged the crash, expressed relief that Woods was alive, and then said something that cut through the noise of the moment: "I don't think we say thank you enough." He thanked Woods for being the reason he played golf at all, for showing him what was possible.
With that victory, Morikawa joined an exclusive club of one. He became only the second golfer in history to win both a major championship and a WGC event before turning 25. The first was Tiger Woods. The symmetry was not lost on anyone watching.
At Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Woods was watching television when the tributes began. Golfers across the tour had coordinated their outfits, a silent, unified statement of support. When Woods saw it, he reached for his phone. "It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirt," he tweeted. "To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time."
His medical team released a statement that same day. The procedures on his injuries had gone well. He was in good spirits. The road ahead would be long—a shattered leg and foot injuries of that severity do not heal quickly—but in that moment, surrounded by the support of his sport and the care of his family, Woods had something to hold onto. Morikawa's win, and the way he had chosen to acknowledge it, was part of that.
Notable Quotes
Tiger means everything to me. I don't think we say thank you enough.— Collin Morikawa, after his WGC victory
It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirt. To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.— Tiger Woods, via Twitter
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