The accolades keep pouring in for Cal golf’s rising senior Collin Morikawa. This past week, Morikawa was named Golfweek Men’s Player of the Year, one of the biggest honors in collegiate game. In doing so, he became the second Cal player to ever receive the prestigious award, after Michael Kim did so in 2013.

“It is a great honor to receive this award,” Morikawa said. “It’s a yearlong thing, and to know that my play from the beginning of the year was just as strong as my play at the end of the year is just a great accomplishment. Winning the Golfweek Player of the Year was my initial goal, and it is just another stepping stone for me to move forward and make new goals from there.”

These thoughts are echoed by Cal head coach Walter Chun.

“Collin had one of the best seasons by any college golfer,” Chun said. “Knowing that Golfweek recognizes him as its Player of the Year is something that I am thankful for and happy for Collin. He has earned it.”

Although the team fell short of its ultimate goal of making it to a national championship, Morikawa was exemplary on an individual basis. His season was highlighted by two wins at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate and the Querencia Cabo Collegiate.

The junior also added three other top-five performances on the season. Despite all these top finishes, his biggest accomplishment perhaps came when he became the 17th player in Walker Cup history to win all four of his rounds.

But Morikawa is already thinking ahead to next year. His goal is to get back to a national championship. With the experience gained from this year’s heartbreaking finish, his priority is finding the drive to push his team to the next level.