Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Delivers Another Bogey-Free Round

Stuck in nearly a two-year victory drought, he has played his past 36 holes over two events without a bogey.

Has Collin Morikawa rediscovered his magic on the golf course?

The 26-year-old shot a bogey-free round of 6-under 66 to open the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Thursday at the Detroit Golf Club.

Morikawa sits in a four-way tie for 10th place, two strokes off the lead, headed into Friday’s second round.

Without a victory since the 2021 British Open — two weeks shy of two years ago — Morikawa has now assembled back-to-back rounds of golf without a bogey.

Ranked No. 20 in the world, Morikawa carded a flawless 7-under 63 last Friday in the second round of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., but missed the cut after a 74 the day before.

At Detroit, Morikawa had birdies on Nos. 1, 2, 13, 14, 16 and 18 . . . without a bogey for the second round in a row.

Fellow Cal graduate Max Homa, the only player in the field with a top-10 world ranking, is at 3-under 69 — also without a bogey — and tied for 39th place.

James Hahn, 41, who turned pro 20 years ago after playing at Cal, finished at 1-under 71 and is tied for 83rd. Ex-Golden Bear Byeong Hun An shot a 1-over 73 including a pair of double bogeys, leaving him in a tie for 123rd place.

American Peter Kuest, a 25-year-old BYU grad who is ranked No. 789th in the world, shares the first-round lead after an 8-under 64 that included nine birdies. Kuest is seeking his first PGA tour victory. Also at 64 is Taylor Moore, who made eight birdies and avoided a bogey.

Seven players — Adam Schenk, Sam Ryder, Aaron Rai, Ludvig Abert, Sam Bennett, Dylan Wu and Justin Sub — were tied for second, one stroke back, after completing their rounds at 7-under 65. Ryder had an eagle-2 on the par-4 10th hole and Rai, Abert and Bennett all had eagle-3s on the par-5 seventh hole.

Wu, a 26-year-old Northwestern grad without a tour victory and ranked No. 255 in the world, made eagles on the seventh and 14th holes — both pars 5s — to offset three bogeys.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by June Han, USA Today

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