Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Fires a 64, Briefly Leads But Now is Second at The Open

Most of the field still was on the course when the 24-year-old went to the clubhouse.

Updated with late results

While America slept, Collin Morikawa was tearing up the course at Royal St. George’s Golf Club.

The 24-year-old Cal grad fired a six-under 64 early Friday to move into the lead at The Open in Kent, England.

Most of the field of 155 golfers was still on the course when Morikawa finished his round that included seven birdies. He was at seven under for he day through 14 holes before carding his lone bogey on No. 15.

Hours later, by the end of the afternoon outside London, first-round leader Louis Oosthuizen had regained the top spot. The South African, ranked No. 13 in the world, shot a 65 that included an eagle on No. 14, on his way to setting a 36-hole record low score of 11 under for the 149-year-old event. He leads second-place Morikawa by two strokes.

Oosthuizen and Morikawa will be paired in the final group to tee off on Saturday, at 7:55 a.m. PT.

Here is Morikawa's session with the media after his second round, when he held the lead before Oosthuizen finished his round:

Jordan Spieth, the 2017 British champ, is alone in third place at minus-8 after a 67 in the second round. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Scottie Scheffler and Dylan Fritelli share fourth place at minus-7 and five players are one stroke behind that threesome.

Also climbing into contention was pre-tournament favorite Jon Rahm, the world’s second-ranked player, who shot a bogey-free 64 and is tied for 12th at five under.

No. 4-ranked Morikawa will resume play Saturday with a nine-under score of 131, halfway to potentially becoming the first player to ever win two majors in his first try at each. 

Two other former Cal golfers — Max Homa and Byeong Hun An — also made the cut and will play the weekend. Homa shot a one-under 69 on Friday following a 70 in the first round and sits in a tie for 41st place at minus-1.

An, who played one year at Cal in 2011, shot a 67 on Thursday and survived three bogeys in the second round to wind up at even par and is tied for 25th place at minus-3.

An and Sergio Garcia tee off at 5:30 a.m. PT on Saturday while Homa and Chan Kim go off at 3:55 a.m.

Morikawa had not played on a European links-style course until last week at the Scottish Open, where he finished in a tie for 71st place. He won the 2020 PGA Championship in his debut performance in that event.

Here are extended highlights of Morikawa's second round at The Open on Friday, including  his putt on the 18th that lipped out and would have given him a round of 63:

In the wake of his struggles in Scotland, Morikawa made two significant changes for this week. He changed three irons — 7, 8 and 9 — from normal blades and on long putts eschewed his recently adopted claw grip in favor of a convention putting approach.

Morikawa sank a long birdie putt on the eighth hole Friday:

.@collin_morikawa takes his share of the lead after his third birdie of the day! 🔥#TheOpen pic.twitter.com/eSMJ7Z8L1f

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 16, 2021

“I changed strictly because I couldn't find the center of the face," Morikawa told reporters when asked about switching clubs. "I was hitting these irons shots last week that I just normally don't and my swing felt good, but it was a huge learning opportunity. Last week, I wanted to win, but I came out of it learning a lot more, and thankfully it helped for this week.”

Referring to the change in his putting grip, Morikawa said, "It's a feel thing, but it's more I couldn't get the tempo on the saw (putting) grip. I think the saw grip is amazing for me. It's going to continue to be in my bag as I continue to putt.

"But from outside, 25, 20 feet ... I couldn't get that tempo that you see like a Brandt Snedeker put on his putts. That is something you need out here because the greens are slower than what we're used to playing. I just switched to conventional. I didn't have to change anything mentally.

"I just kind of went at it like I normally felt and kind of matched the speeds. That's something that without my caddie, J.J., I wouldn't have figured out on my own.”

Morikawa drained another birdie putt on the No. 11:

THE LEADER FOR A REASON.@collin_morikawa // #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/SiYkLoOiT6

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 16, 2021

Morikawa made 15 greens in regulation and needed just 27 putts to complete his round.

His caddie, J.J. Jakovac, called Morikawa’s performance through two rounds “impressive.”

"He's done nothing but impress me for two years. It's not surprising,” Jakovac said. "It was huge going over to the Scottish last week. He learned a lot of stuff. Trying to learn how to hit more half-shots and flight it with your body. And the grass is different too."

After a three-under 67 on Thursday, Morikawa teed off at 12:25 a.m. PT and moved from a tie for ninth into a tie for fourth when he birdied No. 1. He really warmed up beginning at No. 5, when he made the first of six birdies over a stretch of 10 holes,

He barely missed a 10-foot putt on No. 18 that would have given him a 63 and tied the course record.

Rick Sessinghaus, Morikawa’s coach since he was 8 years old, told ESPN in an interview from Los Angeles, he enjoyed watching as his pupil make successful adjustments on the fly.

"It is hard to prepare for these conditions," Sessinghaus said. "We spent time at his course in Las Vegas before he left for the Scottish Open. We worked on alignment with his putting. When he is at his best, he plays with creativity, and this type of golf plays to that strength.

"He really likes the challenge of creating shots and feels you have to pay attention to all the factors before committing to a shot."

Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau, who blamed his first-round 71 on his drivers then apologized, didn’t do a lot better on Friday. But his 70 left him at one-over and the world’s sixth-ranked player barely made the cut.

Not so lucky was 51-year-old Phil Mickelson, the PGA Championships winner in May, who missed the cut after shooting an 80 on Thursday followed by a 72.

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Peter ven den Berg, USA Today

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