Cal Golf: Still Without a Bogey Through 36, Collin Morikawa Leads at Sentry TOC

In search of his first tour victory since 2021, Morikawa has a 2-stroke lead.

Collin Morikawa sank a 20-foot birdie putt on his first hole Friday and never took his foot off gas during another near-flawless round of golf at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Morikawa fired a 7-under 66 in the second round and has a two-stroke lead over the field at minus-16. 

Through 36 holes on the par-73 Plantation Course of the Kapalua Resort at Maui, he has 16 birdies and not a single bogey.

The world’s 11th-ranked player, Morikawa missed the tournament’s 36-hole record by one stroke.

Collin Morikawa hits a shot on the fairway / Photo by Kyle Terada, USA Today

"Just similar to yesterday, (it was) pretty solid, made some good putts," Morikawa told reporters. "Obviously it played a lot harder with kind of the wind, and just the fairways rolling pretty fast, you end up in a lot of spots where you're just going to end up in the rough.

"You just got to play shots and kind of hit 'em to good spots and thankfully we were able to take advantage of enough holes today to kind of keep those birdies going.”

Morikawa, seeking his first PGA tour victory since 2021, had birdies on four of the first five holes. He then made a 30-foot putt on No. 10 for another birdie before going back-to-back on 14 and 15.

In Thursday’s first round, the 25-year-old Cal grad had nine birdies, including six in a row on the back nine.

He is the only player in the field without a bogey through two rounds.

After sharing the first-round lead with J.J. Spaun and Jon Rahm, Morikawa leads by two strokes over Spaun and No. 2-ranked Scottie Scheffler heading into Saturday’s third round. Both players are at 14 under.

Jordan Spieth fired a 66 and is alone in fourth place at 13 under, three strokes back, while Tom Kim is fifth at minus-12. Rahm, ranked No. 5, carded a 71 on Friday and slipped into a tie for sixth place at 11 under.

Cal grad Max Homa is 10 strokes off the lead after shooting a 3-under 70 for the second day in a row. He is tied for 27th place with five others, including Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas, who are ranked No. 4 and No. 8 in the world, respectively.

Homa had six birdies in the second round but shot a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 ninth hole, then carded another bogey on 17.

Xander Schauffele, ranked No. 6 in the world, withdrew from the event because of a back injury. 

Cover photo Collin Morikawa by Kyle Terada, USA Today

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