Who Is Collin Morikawa's Wife? All About Katherine Zhu

Collin Morikawa and Katherine Zhu married in 2022

PGA Tour champion Collin Morikawa married his wife Katherine Zhu in November 2022.

Morikawa has been one of the most successful names in golf since turning pro in 2019, and a year later he became the third-youngest winner of the PGA Championship since World War II. In 2021, he made history with his win at the Open Championship, becoming the first player to win two different majors in his first attempts.

By his side through his successes was Zhu. The couple first met in 2017 while they were both playing college golf and ended up getting engaged in 2021.

“I’m very happy to have her,” Morikawa said in an interview with Golf Central in 2020. “Kat has been there for me through it all. She would hate me if I didn’t say this, but I didn’t start winning in college until she came into my life, so thanks Kat.”

He continued, “She knows that golf can take a toll on you, whether it’s a good day or a bad day. I’m very lucky to have her.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Collin Morikawa’s wife, Katherine Zhu.

She was born in Vancouver, Canada, but attended high school in China

Katherine Zhu’s Instagram

Zhu was born in Vancouver, Canada, but attended the private Zhuji Hailiang High School in China, where she graduated in 2014.

She also comes from a sports background. Her father, Mike Chu, was a tennis player and her mother ran, Zhu told Pepperdine University’s Competing With Purpose blog in 2016. She also played tennis before focusing on golf; she won her first amateur tennis tournament at age 13, according to Pepperdine Waves.

She met Morikawa in 2017

Katherine Zhu’s Instagram

After attending high school in China, Zhu returned to the US for college. She attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where she graduated with a degree in International Management.

While in college, she met Morikawa for the first time, despite the two going to different universities. Her current husband attended the University of California, Berkeley.

She is a former college golf champion

Katherine Zhu’s Instagram

Her husband is not the only golfer in the family. Zhu is a former collegiate golf champion and the sport actually influenced her college choice. She told Pepperdine Waves that she chose the university for three reasons: “First, I really like Coach [Laurie] Gibbs. I believe that all good players have good coaches and I believe that Coach Gibbs can help me become a good player. Second, Malibu has great weather conditions, which create a better environment for my practice. “Third, Pepperdine is a small school that is strong in both academics and athletics,” she said.

While at Pepperdine, Zhu received multiple honors for her achievements in athletics and academics, including the WGCA All-American, Arthur Ashe Jr. sports scholarship and WCC all-academic award.

She married Morikawa in November 2022

Photo by John & Joseph

Morikawa and Zhu got engaged in November 2021, about four years after they first started dating. In an interview for PGA Tour 2022 Morikawa said he finds the proposal more difficult than playing golf at the elite level. “[I was] a much more nervous proposal. It’s not even the same. Not even in the same boat. It’s so far,” he explained.

“I mean golf, I do it every day. It’s normal. It’s not a proposal,” he added. “That morning I was practicing with my caddy in the Bahamas and we were on the cart and I was crashing into the ropes and going all over the place. It was nerve-wracking.”

The couple married in November 2022 at the Bel-Air Hotel in Los Angeles. They shared the day with about 100 close friends and family, and a brass and string orchestra of 10 members played. The newlyweds exchanged traditional vows at the ceremony before sharing their personal vows in private.

“We met by chance, but we decided to share our lives and dreams together,” Morikawa told PEOPLE at the time. “Marriage means being in love with each other for the rest of your life.”

Meanwhile, Zhu shared pictures from the occasion on Instagram, writing: “11/26/22 A day we’ll remember forever 🤍.”

She shares a dog with Morikawa

Katherine Zhu’s Instagram

Morikawa and Zhu have a dog together, a goldendoodle named Koa. Koa was present at their wedding and wore a wedding tuxedo as he stood at Zhu’s feet.

The couple often shares photos with him, and Koa even has his own Instagram page.

She supports Morikawa’s golf career

Collin Morikawa with wife Katherine Zhu after winning the tournament during the final round of the ZOZO Championship on October 22, 2023 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan.

Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty

Zhu often posts pictures of her husband on social media, enthusiastically supporting him in his career. When he won the 2020 PGA Championship, she posted photos of the two of them with the trophy on Instagram. “You continue to amaze me every day,” she wrote. “I’m so happy to see you achieve the goal you’ve worked so hard for! I’m so proud of you!”

In October 2023, Morikawa won the Zozo Championship in Japan after a 27-month losing streak on the PGA Tour.

“You worked so hard for this moment. I’m so incredibly proud of you!” Zhu wrote on Instagram after her husband’s career-defining win.

She was Morikawa’s caddy

Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR/Getty

A fan of golf and a golfer herself, Zhu is sometimes seen driving for her husband. In 2022, she joined her then-fiancé at Augusta National Golf Club for the Par Three Contest before the Masters.

“Golf is such a big part of my life. It has taught me to be strong when things aren’t going well. It has taught me to respect others around me. Most importantly, golf has created opportunities that have created lifelong memories that I will cherish forever. So I’m grateful for this amazing game,” she wrote on Instagram in 2019.

She and Morikawa were at Wimbledon in July 2023

Collin Morikawa’s Instagram

Zhu and Morikawa were among the spectators at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in England.

“Memories are made!” Morikawa wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of him and Zhu with a grass field behind them.

She runs half marathons

Zhu took up running as a hobby.

In November 2023, she ran her first half marathon in Malibu, California. “The best thing was that my husband and friends supported me!” – wrote Zhu on Instagram.

She has since completed the Rose Bowl Half Marathon in Pasadena, California and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas.

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Source: HIS Education