Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Shares Lead After Second Round at U.S. Open

His 4-under 66 was the day's best round and has him tied with underdog Joel Dahmen.

It seems safe to say that Collin Morikawa’s mini-slump is over.

The 25-year-old Cal grad, who finished no higher than a tie for 26th place in his five previous tournaments, had the best round of the day Friday and shares first place at the halfway point of the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

Morikawa shot a four-under 66 and sits alongside 34-year-old cancer survivor Joel Dahmen, ranked No. 130 in the world, at the top of the leaderboard, both of them at 5 under.

Collin Morikawa and caddie J.J. Jakovac discuss their next move, / Photo by Aaron Doster, USA Today

The two enjoy a one-stroke lead over five golfers, including World No. 2 Jon Rahm and No. 3 Rory McIlroy. Scottie Scheffler, ranked No. 1 in the world, is among five players one stroke further back, tied for eighth at 3 under, so television will celebrate having an all-star group at the top of the leaderboard entering the weekend.

"It's the U.S. Open. No one has taken it deep so far and kind of run away," Morikawa said. "The last few days is a huge confidence booster for me heading into this weekend, and hopefully we can kind of make some separation somehow."

Morikawa and Dahmen will tee off at 12:45 p.m. PDT on Saturday.

Here is a video of his media interview after Friday's round:

Morikawa’s fellow Cal alum Max Homa, who has played the best golf of his career in recent months, began the day at 1 under then survived a double bogey to make the cut. He finished his round at 3-over 73 and is tied for 40th place at plus-2.

Homa will be paired Saturday with Adam Scott, and will go off at 8:06 a.m. PDT.

Things went much worse for six-time major champion Phil Mickelson, 52, who followed Thursday’s 78 with a 73 and missed the cut at 11 over. Mickelson has made news recently after being banned from the PGA Tour for joining the Saudi-backed LIV tour.

Here is a video of Morikawa's second-round highlights:

Collin Morikawa's second-round score card / ESPN

The past month or so has been difficult for Morikawa. Since finishing fifth at the Masters in mid-April, he skidded from No. 2 in the world rankings to No. 7.

Now he’s positioned to challenge for one of the two majors he has not won. Already a winner at the PGA Championship in 2020 and the British Open in 2021, Morikawa finished fourth a year ago at the U.S. Open.

“Overall, I feel like I’m doing the right things to give myself opportunities to make birdies, and that’s what you have to do on a major championship," Morikawa said.

He has 36 holes still to play, but Morikawa is striving to become the fifth golfer to win three different majors before turning 26. That exclusive club includes McIlroy, Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods, who won all four of them before 26.

“I never put an age on (the career Grand Slam). Never really thought about it,” Morikawa said. “I just wanted to win golf tournaments, win majors, and compete against the best in the world, and luckily, I've been able to do that.”

A victory here would also make Morikawa the first golfer to win a major in three consecutive seasons since Brooks Koepka did it in 2017, ’18 and ’19.

Morikawa was sharp all day on Friday. After carding a 69 in the first round, he started on the back nine and had birdies on 12, 14, 17 and, after the turn, on 1 to go to 5 under. That gave him the lead, which he gave back with a bogey on No. 4.

But he played the final five holes at 1 under, including a birdie on the eighth, to climb back into the lead.

Dahmen, who has won once on the PGA Tour, followed his opening-round 67 with a 68 on Friday, including a birdie on No. 15 that allowed him to pull even with Morikawa.

Max Homa hits a tee shot in Friday's second round / Photo by Peter Casey, USA Today

Rahm, the tournament’s defending champion, shot a 67 in the second round while McIlroy carded a 68. McIlroy, coming off a victory at RBC Canadian Open last week and runnerup at the Masters this spring, had to convert a 23-foot putt to save a double bogey on the par-4 third hole.

McIlroy, 33, owns four major titles but is without one since 2014.

“I’m in a good place,” he said afterward. “I’m really happy with where my game is at, and I think that’s the most important thing.”

Also tied for second place just one stroke back are 25-year-old Oregon product Aaron Wise and a pair of longshots still winless on the tour — Beau Hossler, ranked No. 162 in the world, and Hayden Buckley, at No. 259.

Scheffler, who has won three times this season including at the Masters, folded an eagle into his round of 67. He tied for seventh at the U.S. Open a year ago.

Cameron Young missed the cut after shooting a 72, despite carding just the 48th hole-in-one in U.S. Open history. He knocked in his tee shot on the par-3 sixth hole but his round featured four bogeys and a double bogey.

Max Homa's second-round score card / ESPN

Homa, who has won twice this season to climb to a career-best No. 23 in the world rankings, began his day with a bogey on No. 10. He had another on No. 17 and made the turn at 2 over for the day.

A double bogey on the par-4 fourth hole dropped him into a tie for 55th place but he played 1 under over the final five holes of the day to climb into 23-way logjam for 40th place. Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau also are part of that group.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Aaron Doster, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo