Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Climbs 25 Spots to a Tie For Ninth at The Memorial

At 4 under, he is just two strokes back of three sharing the lead, including Rory McIlroy.

Surviving a wild two days in which he had eight bogeys and a double-bogey, Collin Morikawa climbed from a tie for 34th place into a share ninth on Saturday after three rounds of the Memorial at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

The 26-year-old Cal grad is at 4 under through 54 holes and just two strokes off the lead, shared by three golfers, including Rory McIlroy. McIlroy is tied for the top spot heading into Sunday’s final round along with David Lipsky and Si Woo Kim, all at 6 under.

Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa / Photo by Aaron Doster, USA Today

Without a top-25 finish in his past five events, Morikawa shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday then had a 73 in the second round that included an eagle but also a double-bogey on the next hole.

The world's 16th-ranked player, he had four bogeys on Saturday but also eight birdies, including five on the front nine, where he carded a 32. After bogeys on 14 and 16, Morikawa birdied Nos. 17 and 18 to pull within striking distance of the leaders. He scored his birdie on the 17th by chipping in from the rough.

For a time on Saturday, it appeared Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama might separate himself from the field. Sparked by birdies on the first two holes, he was at minus-9 through seven before shooting 5 over on the final 11 holes, including a triple-bogey 6 on the par-3 12th hole.

Matsuyama is now tied with Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay, a two-time winner at the Memorial, among others, for ninth place.

Morikawa hasn’t won a tournament since The (British) Open in the summer of 2021 and hasn’t finished in the top 10 since a tie for 10th at the Masters on April 9. Since then, he has missed the cut twice in five outings with a best showing of a tie for 26th at the PGA Championship on May 21.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Aaron Doster, USA Today

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


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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics.