Collin Morikawa may win his third major title at the 88th Masters. The 27-year-old is only one stroke behind field leader Scottie Scheffler after Saturday’s round. It will not be wrong to credit Morikawa’s lady luck for some part of the success that the golfer is enduring at Augusta. The pro himself has been quite vocal about the support he receives from his wife, Kathrine Zhu Morikawa.

The couple has been married for more than a year, and while Zhu supports her husband from outside the ropes, she also has a prospering athletic career outside of it.

Exploring Kathrine Zhu’s career

Just like Collin Morikawa, his wife, Katherine Zhu, was also a collegiate golfer. The Canadian native completed her graduation from Pepperdine University and was part of their roster from 2014 to 2018. As a D1 athlete, Zhu earned many collegiate accolades, like WGCA All-American Scholar, Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar, and WCC All-Academic.

After graduating in 2018, Zhu turned professional and played on the China LPGA Tour. However, the golfing career of the Vancouver native was short-lived. Four years after leaving her pro career, in 2023, she turned her attention to another sport; marathon running. Zhu, while playing golf as a hobby on the side, ran her first half marathon in November 2023.

Since then, she has made much progress as a runner. Recently, she posted about two marathons she was a part of. The first was the Rose Bowl Half Marathon and 5K in January 2024 in Pasadena, California. She came in 80th in the female category. Another was in March, the Rock n Roll running series in Las Vegas, which was another half marathon.

Her recent medal in Vegas also made Collin Morikawa go gaga over his lady charm. The 2-time major champion praised her, and said “She’s a runner; she’s a track star.” The two have been avid supporters of each other’s successes all the time. So much so that Morikawa once credited all his wins to Zhu.

Collin Morikawa says Katherine Zhu is the reason for his victories.

In 2020, Collin Morikawa won his first major event, the PGA Championship, with two strokes of lead over Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey. Although it was his gameplay that took him to lift the trophy, Morikawa said that it was Zhu’s magic as well. In the post-match conference, the 27-year-old said, “I am very lucky to have her.”

Moreover, talking about his various victories since his collegiate career, Morikawa said, “I didn’t start winning in college until she showed up in my life, so thanks, Kat.” The 6-time PGA Tour winner was extremely grateful to Zhu for always being the same, regardless of how the results turned out.

With her support, Morikawa has won many times around the globe, and at the Augusta National, he is making a run for another such victory.