Scottie Scheffler doesn’t get challenges head-on every day. At least not until Collin Morikawa plays some good golf. As the latter happened at the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am event, with Morikawa once again contending for the trophy, Scheffler received a warning from the former world No. 5.

“I feel like I can play against the top players in the world, even a guy like Scottie Scheffler when he’s playing great. Like, you know, I still believe that and until the day I don’t, I’m going to keep going at it head-on,” Morikawa said after shooting a 10-under-par 62 at the third round at Pebble Beach.

When Collin Morikawa plays his best golf and doesn’t go head-on against Scottie Scheffler, it is like Jordan Speith emerging from the bush and choosing not to hunt. Morikawa had kept himself silent for a significant period during a winless drought dating back to 2023. However, as his golf has gotten better, the silence has ended.

At the 2026 Pebble Beach event, Morikawa is currently playing like his ‘old self,’ and enters the finale at 17-under-par, trailing the leader, Akshay Bhatia (-19), by just two strokes. More importantly, Morikawa sits six strokes ahead of Scheffler (-11), a position that has eluded him in recent years.

Despite the gap, never trust Scottie Scheffler on Sunday. At the American Express 2026, Scheffler entered the final day trailing leader Si Woo Kim by one shot. He proceeded to dismantle the course with a 6-under 66, going from a two-shot deficit early to a lead that stretched to six shots late. Additionally, just one week before the Pebble Beach event, Scheffler opened with a 2-over 73, 10 strokes off the lead. Notably, he was T89 after Day 1. But when the tournament ended, he was 15 under par and tied for third, one shot away from the playoffs.

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Nobody has mastered comebacks better than Scottie in 2026.

Still, Morikawa is not someone who gets intimidated by Scheffler.  During the 2024 Masters Tournament, Morikawa was in contention for the green jacket, entering the final round just one stroke behind Scheffler. But he ultimately faltered on the back nine due to double bogeys at holes 9 and 11, and ended tied for third at 4-under par.

At that time, before the final round, the two-time major champion had said,  “Scottie is the No 1 player in the world for a reason, and what he’s done over the past few years is incredible. But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t scare me.”

After the 2024 Masters, though Morikawa remained winless on the Tour, he always got Scheffler’s best on several occasions. Take the 2024 Tour Championship or the 2025 Memorial Tournament, Scheffler always had the last laugh.  Now, Morikawa believes it is his turn to pay him back, and his Saturday 62 at Pebble Beach has put him in the perfect position to do so.

Still, Morikawa’s path to the trophy will not be as easy as it seems as he has a lot of work to do on the putting issue. To combat this, he revealed he is currently using a mallet putter he stole from Tour buddy Kurt Kitayama two weeks ago. But with a 159th in Strokes Gained: Putting ranking, that path to glory is anything but straight.

Still, this rivalry between Scottie Scheffler and Morikawa only gets better when they are together.

More than just the Tour rival

The two share a genuine friendship off the course. And it’s not just them, their families are closely related too. Their wives, Meredith Scheffler and Katherine “Kat” Zhu, are often seen together at Ryder Cup gala events and team dinners.

“I’ve known Scottie for more than 12 years,” Morikawa said once. “Xander and I were pretty close when he was out in Vegas for a couple of years. We played a lot of golf. It’s just nice to be around them and have all the wives together.”

The two stars are also quick to roast each other as well. When Scheffler won the 2025 PGA Championship, the lid of the Wanamaker Trophy famously fell off as he hoisted it. Morikawa, who did the exact same thing in 2020, wasted no time, posting on Instagram: “Can’t make fun of me now, @scottiescheffler”.

Scheffler has also returned this favor by poking fun at Morikawa’s unique techniques. When Morikawa began playing without a glove during the 2025 Travelers Championship to improve his feel, Scheffler said, “You definitely won’t see me doing that.”

Back to the Pebble Beach 2026, while the Scheffler-Morikawa battle dominates the headlines, the $20 million event has other contenders lurking, too. Akshay Bhatia looks unstoppable with a 19-under-par total as he is two strokes ahead of Morikawa, Sepp Straka, and Jake Knapp. The former Masters champion and WM Phoenix Open runner-up Hideki Matsuyama is also close behind them with a -15 total score to his credit.