LOS ANGELES >> Don’t be surprised to see Collin Morikawa squatting instead of bending from the waist to tee up his golf ball this week at the U.S. Open. No need to be concerned, either.

Morikawa, who starred collegiately at Cal, had to withdraw from the Memorial two weeks ago because of pain in his back, bad timing with the U.S. Open approaching and because he was two shots out of the lead going into the final round at Muirfield Village.

Morikawa said it happened while doing a reactive exercise and he turned the wrong way. After some rest and rehabilitation at home in Las Vegas, all is well.

“We got started hitting balls late last week, and we’re swinging fine,” he said Tuesday. “There’s no pain swinging right now, which is great. I might be teeing up kind of weirdly this week, so don’t take too much into that; but it’s just precautionary.”

He says he will remain cautious with his movement when he’s not swinging the club. But in two days of practice, there hasn’t been an issue hitting out of the rough or the bunkers.

“It was just terrible, terrible timing,” he said of the Memorial, which Viktor Hovland wound up winning. Morikawa won in 2020 at Muirfield Village in the Workday Charity Open.

Morikawa lives in Las Vegas, but home is LA. He grew up in La Canada, and he played Los Angeles Country Club in the 2017 Walker Cup, going 4-0 in his matches.

“Every time I come back to LA, it’s my favorite spot in the world. It’s always going to be home for me no matter where I live, no matter where I move to,” Morikawa said. “There’s just that extra added touch, specialness, when you’re playing at home, when you’re playing in the state of California for me.

“Hopefully, put together four really good rounds out here and see what happens.”

Morikawa is one of four Californians who have won majors in their home state. His came at Harding Park in San Francisco in the PGA Championship, the first major coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other California-born major champions in their home state: Tiger Woods (2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines), Billy Casper (1966 U.S. Open at Olympic Club) and Scott Simpson (1987 U.S. Open at Olympic Club).

Monahan recovering from medical issue, cedes day-to-day control >> PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is recovering from a medical situation that led him to turn over control to two of his top executives, the tour announced Tuesday night.

The tour did not disclose the nature of the medical situation or how serious it was, only that its board “fully supports Jay and appreciates everyone respecting his privacy.”

The PGA Tour is in the midst of the most intense time in its 54-year history, fending off a rival league funded by Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund that led to defections of marquee players and an antitrust lawsuit.

His medical situation comes a week after Monahan stunned the golf world by announcing the PGA Tour had ended its battle with the Public Investment Fund and LIV Golf by agreeing to a commercial business partnership.

Monahan, 53, spent nearly two months working on the deal with two PGA Tour board members, investment banker Jimmy Dunne and New York attorney Ed Herlihy, without any players’ knowledge.

Almost all of them said they were shocked. Some said they felt betrayed. The deal came nearly a year after Monahan made pointed remarks about LIV Golf’s source of funding, particularly as it related to any Saudi connection to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

When a news outlet broke an embargo, some players learned of the deal on social media before the tour could email them details. Monahan then faced a meeting with players at the Canadian Open that was described as intense and included a suggestion that he be replaced.

“I recognize that people are going to call me a hypocrite,” Monahan said in a Zoom call with the media after the meeting. “Anytime I said anything, I said it with the information that I had at that moment, and I said it based on someone that’s trying to compete for the PGA Tour and our players. I accept those criticisms. But circumstances do change. I think that in looking at the big picture and looking at it this way, that’s what got us to this point.”

Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley offered his support for Monahan and his family and wished him “a healthy and speedy recovery.”

“Jay Monahan is a leader in our sport and a friend to so many across the golf industry,” he said.

The tour said its chief operating officer, Ron Price, and its president, Tyler Dennis, would be in charge while Monahan recovers.