PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Collin Morikawa is a results guy. He doesn’t love it, but he can’t help it.

In an era across sports where coaches constantly preach process over results, Morikawa has tried to operate that way. To not live and die with every result. To not see one poor stretch and get the urge to build back from scratch. Except that Morikawa needs the good results to believe. It’s just who he is. He was already challenged in that respect this year. He began the year incredibly confident in his game, then missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He had to resist the urge not to tear it down. He had plenty of frustrating calls with swing coach Rick Sessinghaus as the long-time duo tried to unlock Morikawa’s ability to go low.

It’s why he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face Saturday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Finally, he got the result he was searching for.

Morikawa shot 10-under 62 on a soft but gusty day at Pebble Beach, hitting all 18 greens in what was the best statistical ball-striking performance of his career. Morikawa gained 6.46 shots on the field with his approach play Saturday, the most he’s amassed in a single round on the PGA TOUR. He was nearly three strokes better on approach than the next best performer in the third round.

“Ball was going where I wanted, putts were dropping when I needed them," Morikawa said. "(I) just never got ahead of myself. This game is stressful enough and I think I make it even more stressful for whatever reason.”

Saturday reminded everyone of his raw talent, Morikawa included, which hasn’t wavered even as the two-time major winner struggled to meet his lofty expectations in recent seasons. His ball-striking has ebbed and flowed since he last won in 2023, oscillating between fantastic and good. He’s built a career relying on the former, knowing he can be the best player in the world when he’s the best ball-striker in the world, even if other parts of his game are shaky. But he hasn’t strung it together for four rounds. It’s been a maddening existence for the former world No. 1, who was a prolific winner in his early days on TOUR. Somewhere along the way, he stopped winning with regularity and became known as a guy who struggles to win. He’s begun the final round in second or better on six occasions since the start of 2024. He hasn’t converted them into victories, 0-for-6.

That narrative didn’t go away Saturday, but he gave himself a chance to end it on Sunday. Out early in calmer conditions, Morikawa ascended quickly. He birdied the gettable par-5 second hole, then stuffed a wedge to 4 feet and made birdie on the par-4 third. He added four straight birdies to close his front nine, the longest of which was a 6-foot putt on the ninth. A bogey on the 10th briefly stifled his momentum, but he holed a 14-foot birdie on the 13th that kicked off a torrid finish. He played the final six holes in 5-under to shoot 62. Three of those birdies came inside 2 feet.

“The last two days have felt kind of like my old self in just being able to control the golf ball,” said Morikawa, who ranked second in proximity.

It was a tour de force in iron play, a type of performance we seldom see, even from the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. That Morikawa shot 62 despite losing strokes putting is a testament to that. He missed a 7-foot birdie on the first hole, three-putted from 26 feet on the 10th and missed an 8-footer for birdie on the 12th. A rare 62 where the golfer legitimately left something out there.

It will be hard to imagine a repeat on Sunday, though that’s not a slight at Morikawa. Conditions are expected to worsen significantly, with 35 mph wind gusts forecast. There’s likely not a 62 out there. They are conditions that are usually about process over results; then again, it’s a Sunday at a Signature Event. The result will matter quite a bit.