847 days. That’s the gap between Collin Morikawa’s sixth and seventh PGA Tour titles. Still, as significant as the trophy was for his career at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the most important news of the day was yet to be public.

Morikawa was interviewed on the 18th green by Balionis after an emotional embrace with his wife, Katherine Zhu. Soon after, he revealed that they were expecting a baby! And Balionis wasted no time in making her feelings clear.

Taking to Instagram, the CBS Sports reporter reposted the interview and congratulated the Morikawa family with an emotional message: “10 seasons on @golfoncbs and this is our first baby announcement during a winning interview. A huge congratulations to the Morikawa’s!”

Balionis, who joined CBS Sports in 2017 and has reported several breakthrough news stories during her decade-long career — including her emotional interview with Chris Gotterup after his 2026 WM Phoenix Open win — experienced something entirely new. It was the first time in her career that someone announced pregnancy news on air.

In the clip posted by CBS Sports, captioned “A win the (growing) Morikawa family will never forget 😊🍼,” the 39-year-old asked, “Collin, after that emotional embrace there with your wife, Kat—after nearly two and a half years, you are once again a champion. Why was that moment so special for you two?”

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Morikawa took a deep breath and, with his emotions nearly choking him, remarked, “A lot of reasons. Um… put golf aside, you know, we’re actually expecting later this year, in a few months. And we just started telling people this week, and we said, ‘What a better way—the best way—to just announce it to the world if I was able to come out and win.’ There’s so much to life, there’s so much to enjoy.”

The announcement marks a beautiful new chapter for Collin and Katherine, who first met in 2017 while they were both student-athletes in California. Morikawa was the star of the University of California, Berkeley golf team, while Katherine was a standout golfer at Pepperdine University. After dating for over five years, the couple got married on November 26, 2022, in a ceremony in Los Angeles.

While the couple has a beloved dog named Koa, this pregnancy marks their first child together. A milestone that definitely adds a new direction to Morikawa’s future on the Tour.

And fans and peers from all over the world started sharing their love and congratulations to the Morikawa couple under the post.

How the golf community reacted after Morikawa’s ‘new dad’ announcement

LPGA legend and fellow major champion Michelle Wie West also reported the story, captioning it, “@katherine_morikawa @collin_morikawa 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭.”

West and Collin Morikawa’s wife, Katherine Zhu, share a friendly relationship. Zhu has publicly celebrated Michelle Wie West’s milestone moments in the past, such as her 10K run. Now it’s Michelle’s turn!

Another star, Rose Zhang, also couldn’t hide her emotions on her Instagram story, writing, “STOP crying rn 😭😭😭 @katherine_morikawa @collin_morikawa.”

And it’s not just the professionals who were moved by the news, as one fan noted after the news, “He’s always been one of my favorites on the tour! Classy guy, and congratulations!”

After joining the Tour in 2019, the American golfer has amassed 7 wins, 11 runner-ups, 30 Top 5 and 79 Top 25s. That’s quite an achievement for someone who is just 29 years 0old.

That’s why, for most of the fans, the win at Pebble Beach was the perfect “double victory,” validating both his professional grind and his ‘cherry on the top’ announcement, as one fan wrote, “Congratulations! What wonderful news. So happy for both reasons🩷💙❤️.”

Morikawa has often struggled with ‘putting woes,’ which has seen his world ranking slip to No. 19. By succeeding in both his career (ending the 847-day drought) and his personal life (the pregnancy), fans see a champion who has finally achieved the ‘balance’ he has always searched for.