Can Collin Morikawa Parlay Recent Success into Open Victory?

The Cal alum won the iconic British event in 2021 but Scottie Scheffler is the favorite this weekend at Scotland's Royal Troon

Collin Morikawa / Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

Three years after securing his second major with a triumph at Royal St. George’s, Collin Morikawa is ready to pursue another victory at The Open Championship.

The 27-year-old Cal grad has missed the cut the past two years on British soil but he’s on a roll heading to Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland, where play begins Thursday.

Morikawa is coming off a tie for fourth place at the Scottish Open last week, his ninth consecutive top-20 finish. Six of those were in the top-10, including a tie for third at the Masters and a tie for fourth place at the PGA Championship. He tied for 14th at the U.S. Open.

Missing from his 2024 resume is a victory. Morikawa has won six times as a professional, but not since October 2023. 

Still, he has climbed back to a No. 6 world ranking after slipping as far down as No. 22 late last year.

CBS Sports puts Morikawa at 16-to-1 to win. Before getting to Sunday, he’ll want to survive Thursday and Friday, something he didn’t achieve the past two years when he missed the cut.

Fellow Cal alum Max Homa, who has struggled in recent weeks, had his best British finish last year with a tie for 10th place. Another former Cal golfer, South Korean Byeong Hun An, tied for 23rd last year, his best British finish and the sixth time he made the cut.

Homa’s chances are listed at 40-to-1 with An at 120-to-1.

Homa is scheduled to tee off on the 7,387-yard, par-71 course at 2:09 am. PDT, An will go off at 5:26 a.m. and Morikawa at 6:48 a.m.

The favorite at 9-to-2 is top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters and was eighth at the PGA Championships but just 41st at the U.S. Open. 

World No. 9 Bryson DeChambeau has spent most of his season playing the LIV tour but has exceled at the three majors, winning the U.S. Open, finishing second at the PGA and finishing tied for sixth at the Masters. He earned a total of $7 million at just those three tournaments and is listed as 14-to-1 this week.

Here is how CBS Sports ranks the top of the field and Cal’s three entries:

1. Scottie Scheffler

Age: 28
Odds to win: 9-2
OWGR: 1 Data Golf: 1
Masters: 1 PGA finish: T-8 U.S. Open: T-41
Open appearances: 3 Cuts made: 3
Best Open finish: 8th (2021)

For the fourth time in 2024, Scottie Scheffler’s odds are under +500 to win a major championship. Since Scottie won the Hero World Challenge back in December, his 2024 has consisted of six wins, seven top 10s and a T-41 at the U.S. Open. That one seems quite odd, doesn’t it? Crazy as it sounds, that’s the one that worries me the most. Scottie Scheffler is perfectly suited to win on any golf course, anywhere in the world. Don’t get me wrong, we have five or six really good contenders for this crown, but without some help from the Troon police, a weather forecast, or some unknown entity, the rest of these guys are seemingly playing for second place.
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2. Rory McIlroy
3. Xander Schauffele
4. Bryson DeChambeau
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5. Collin Morikawa

Age: 27
Odds to win: 16-1
OWGR: 6 Data Golf: 4
Masters: T-3 PGA finish: T-4 U.S. Open: T-14
Open appearances: 3 Cuts made: 1
Best Open finish: Won (2021)

Nobody deserves a win more this season than Collin Morikawa. A return to his longtime coach Rick Sessinghaus in March has regained their magic. One year ago, Morikawa was ranked 23rd in the world rankings and then missed the cut at The Open. Now he is one of the betting favorites to capture his second claret jug. Since finishing third at the Masters, Collin has five top 5s and no finish higher than 23rd in nine starts. It has been an incredible run—one that will close with a win very soon. Strong in Scotland, Morikawa keeps moving the needle closer.
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6. Ludvig Åberg
7. Tommy Fleetwood
8. Hideki Matsuyama
9. Viktor Hovland
10. Tony Finau
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38. Max Homa

Age: 33
Odds to win: 40-1
OWGR: 15 Data Golf: 34
Masters: T-3 PGA finish: T-35 U.S. Open: MC
Open appearances: 3 Cuts made: 2
Best Open finish: 10th (2023)

What in the world is going on with Max Homa? At the start of 2024, Homa was seventh in the world rankings; he now sits 15th and is still falling! Max’s key to consistency was small misses with the driver. That skill has since left, and now there’s extra pressure on all aspects of his game.
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42. Byeong Hun (Ben) An

Age: 32
Odds to win: 120-1
OWGR: 30 Data Golf: 39
Masters: T-16 PGA finish: T-43 U.S. Open: MC
Open appearances: 9 Cuts made: 6
Best Open finish: 23rd (2023)

Ben An rides this amazing reality check roller-coaster. Twice this season he has finished top 4 in back-to-back events only to then not follow either up with a win or another strong finish. Remember last year when he finished T-3 at the Scottish only to finish T-23 at Royal Liverpool? He has the talent to break that trend, but will he?