Golf’s always been known to be a game of accuracy, patience, and elegance. However, for Collin Morikawa and his wife, Katherine Zhu, it was more, as the game was also the reason why they met in the first place. The transition of both from college athletes to a successful couple in the golfing world is quite magical.

Katherine Zhu’s early life and background

Collin Morikawa’s wife, Katherine Zhu, was born on January 13, 1996, in Vancouver, Canada. She moved to China to attend Zhuji Hailiang Private High School, where she graduated in 2014. Her upbringing involved participation in a lot of sports. The athleticism she carries runs in the family blood. Her father, Mike Chu, was a champion tennis player. As for her mother, she is a track athlete.

After completing high school, Zhu moved to the United States to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. The primary reasons for choosing this school were that she wanted to train under Coach Gibbs, and also, Malibu’s weather conditions are pleasant. At Pepperdine University, she completed her major in international management.

Following in her father’s footsteps, Zhu began playing tennis at a young age and also won the first amateur tennis tournament at age 13. She then moved her focus to golf when she was 14. Since she had already played tennis, she enjoyed hitting golf balls too. And once she started playing golf, she was all into it.

Katherine Zhu’s golfing career

After developing an interest in golf, Katherine quickly became good at it, thanks to the athletic genes in her body. She became part of her college’s football team. Her distinguished collegiate golf career spans four years, from 2017 to 2021. Over these four seasons, she scored at an average of 76.54 in 107 rounds across 39 events.

Of the four years, she led her college’s scoring average for two. One of the key highlights of her career was her first collegiate tour victory at the Gunrock Invitational as a sophomore. She managed to hit 4-under par 68 in the final round for an accumulated score of 1-under par to clinch the trophy.

Her steady performance won her the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar award multiple times. She was also recognized as the WGCA All-American Scholar.

Katherine has not perceived golf as a career after college. However, she still uploads Instagram posts playing the game. And to maintain her athletic body, she now actively participates in marathons.

Although she is not pursuing golf as a career, the game has been a significant part of her life. Reflecting on the same, she uploaded an Instagram post captioned, “Golf is such a big part of my life. It’s taught me to be strong when things aren’t going well. It’s taught me to respect others around me. Most importantly, golf has created opportunities that have made lifelong memories that I’ll cherish forever. I’m so grateful for this amazing game.”

Collin Morikawa and Katherine Zhu’s love story

Collin Morikawa and Katherine Zhu’s love story started in 2017, when Morikawa was a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley. Two weeks before his first college triumph, Morikawa had just been defeated in a playoff.

One day, a teammate on the women’s golf team showed him a picture of Zhu. Morikawa said in a YouTube interview with Golf. com “I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, of course, set me up.’ As a joke, but not as a joke.”

He had no idea that this casual meeting would lead to a long-lasting relationship. Zhu’s teammate helped them get in touch, then Morikawa and Zhu started texting. After this, they met during spring break and started their romantic journey.

They made their relationship public for the first time in May 2017, when the six-time PGA Tour winner posted a photo of them on a date on Instagram. Later in August 2017, Katherine was the one posting a picture of the two looking at each other.

The couple celebrated their three years together by going on a vacation. Zhu posted an adorable photo of the two enjoying themselves at a beach with a caption that goes, “Always better together. Happy 3 years.” Collin also added a photo on Instagram and wished her, “So in love with you, you’re my everything ❤️ Happy 3 years babe.”

It was after over four years of dating that Morikawa popped the question to Zhu on November 30, 2021, and she said yes. And a year later, they got married in November 2022 at Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, according to People.

“We found each other by chance, but we chose to share our lives and dreams together,” Morikawa tells People. “Marriage means to be in love with each other for the rest of our lives.”

They celebrated their marriage with a small ceremony with around 100 guests, involving close friends and family. The couple happily read traditional vows and then their personal handwritten vows to each other.

Katherine Zhu’s Support for Morikawa

Zhu, who is now Collin Morikawa’s wife, Katherine Morikawa, has always supported the PGA Tour golfer. The game was the reason they were together.

It was apparent that they both enjoyed golf from the start. They were both very successful collegiate golfers and knew the time and effort required to play the game. In fact, Morikawa attributes much of his success during his college years to Zhu, stating that the two were together when the latter was on a winning streak. He said, “I literally won five times or five more times throughout my college career. I’ve been with her since, and I credit a lot of the wins to her”.

In an interview with Golf Central, the six-time PGA Tour winner also said, “Kat’s been by my side through it all. She would hate me if I didn’t say this, but I didn’t start winning in college until she showed up in my life.”

There’s no denying that Katherine Zhu is a huge support to his golf career. Morikawa’s move to professional golf in 2019 can be described as a meteoric rise. He soon established himself on the PGA Tour, starting his career with 22 consecutive made cuts, a record only bettered by Woods.

Among his six PGA Tour wins are two major championships: the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open Championship, two major championships that he won in his first attempt. On the other hand, Zhu, a former professional golfer, sometimes plays the role of a caddy for Morikawa and offers him advice and motivation.

While Morikawa is steadily climbing the ladder of professional golf, occupying the 8th place in the Official World Golf Ranking at the time of writing this paper, Zhu remains a constant in his life. Her involvement in his career through caddying or even being his companion shows how deep their bond was. What do you think lies ahead for Collin Morikawa and Katherine Zhu? Share your thoughts and join the conversation below.