Cal Golf: Max Homa Rises Up, Collin Morikawa Falters at the Memorial

One week after winning at Muirfield Village, Morikawa shoots a four-over 76

In a span of three holes, Collin Morikawa not only doomed his chances at the Memorial golf tournament but gave himself a steep road to even making the cut on Friday.

While Morikawa shot a six-over-par 76 on Thursday and sits in a 15-way tie for 95th place, things went much better for fellow former Cal star Max Homa. He fired a two-under 70 and is part of a 10-day tie for eighth place.

Byeong Hun An, another ex-Golden Bear, is at one-under 71 and tied for 10th place, along with Tiger Woods, who made his return to the tour after four months off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

American Tony Finau leads at 66, one stroke ahead of Gary Palmer.

Morikawa’s rough morning happened at Muirfield Village, the same course where he won his second PGA tour title last week capturing the Workday Charity Open in a three-hole playoff.

But the specifics of Jack Nicklaus’ course were tweaked for this week, and Morikawa ran into the toughest three-hole stretch of his 13-month-old professional career.

The 23-year-old Cal grad had two double-bogeys and a bogey on consecutive holes during his opening nine, putting him four-over-par at that point. He got no closer and Morikawa is is now in serious danger of missing the cut for just the second time as a pro.

Collin Morikawa watches his shot on Thursday.

Photo by Aaron Doster, USA Today

Justin Thomas, whom Morikawa beat in the playoff on Sunday, also struggled, carding a 74. Asked about the layout and conditions at Muirfield, Thomas said, "It's not even remotely close to the same.”

Starting his day on the back nine, Morikawa was one under through four holes when disaster struck.

He scored a double-bogey 6 on the 14th, a bogey 6 on the par-5 15th, then a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 16th. That’s five over par in a stretch of three calamitous holes, a deep hole.

Homa, lost in Morikawa’s shadow recently, overcame four bogeys by carding four birdies and an eagle. The 29-year-old scored a 3 on the par-5 11th hole, although he gave back those two strokes with bogeys on the next two holes.

The 2013 NCAA champion at Cal, Homa had struggled since the PGA reopened the tour following a hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Homa played in four events since the reboot, missing the cut in three of them and finishing 41st at the RBC Heritage.

Byeong, who played at Cal during the 2010-11 academic year, included three birdies in his round and matched Homa’s eagle-3 on the 11th hole. But he also had a double-bogey on the ninth hole.

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

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