Collin Morikawa Rallies to Make the Cut at the U.S. Open; Max Homa Falters

Morikawa birdies three of his final four holes to climb to a tie for 30th place at the L.A. Country Club.

Collin Morikawa delivered three birdies in a row Friday afternoon to make the cut at the 123rd U.S. Open and earn the chance to play the weekend at the Los Angeles Country Club.

The two-time major winner from Cal, who was three over par with four holes to play, wound up with a 69 in the second round for an even-par score through 36 holes.

Morikawa is tied for 30th place, 10 strokes behind Rickie Fowler, who followed his first-round 62 with a 68 to lead at 10 under.

"It's not that easy out there," Fowler said. "Yes, I've made a lot of birdies, and that is doable out there. It's still a very hard test. You hit fairways and hit greens, yes, you can score well, but you get out of position and it's going to eat you up."

That's pretty much what happened to Morikawa's with fellow Golden Bear Max Homa, who will have to wait to challenge for his first major title. Rated No. 7 in the world, the 32-year-old shot a 2-under 68 on Thursday before blowing up with a 6-over 76 that included three double-bogeys.

"Those two doubles in the middle just really slowed me down," said Homa, the highest-ranked player who missed the cut. He played 36 holes in 4 over, missing the cut by two strokes.

Cal’s third golfer in the event, 29-year-old Michael Kim, shot a second-round 73 and missed the cut at plus-7.

Morikawa, who hasn’t won since taking the British Open in the summer of 2021, seemed certain to be sidelined Friday afternoon after bogeys on three of his first five holes then two more through five holes after making the turn.

He was at 2 over for the day and 3 over for the tournament through his first 14 holes before birdies on Nos. 6, 7 and 8 to slide back under the cut line.

Morikawa is part of a nine-way tie for 30th, along with Brooks Koepka.

Fowler has a one-stroke lead over Wyndham Clark, who shot a second-round 67 and is at minus-9. Rory McIlroy is tied for third with first-round co-leader Xander Schauffele, both two strokes back of Fowler.

Homa, who has won twice this season but has never finished higher than 13th in a major, missed the cut for the ninth time in 16 tries in one of golf’s four biggest events.

He was tied for 14th place after Thursday, but could find none of the magic he showed on this same layup 10 years ago when he shot a course-record 61 to win the 2013 NCAA title.

Homa matched three birdies against three bogeys but it was double-bogeys on Nos. 17, 18 and 7 that torpedoed his day. He finished in a tie for 80th place.

He wasn’t the only high-profile golfer to stumble in the second round. Fifteen-time tour winner Justin Thomas shot an 11-over 81 and missed the cut at 14 over, tied for 153rd out of 156 golfers.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Jamie Germano, USA Today Network 

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