Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Bounces Back, Shoots Opening-Round 68 at Dubai
A couple days after finishing in a tie 62nd place at the Abu Dhabi Championship, Collin Morikawa acknowledged the high winds, gusting to 40 miles per hour, left him wondering what to do.
“I didn’t know where the golf ball was going,” Morikawa said this week.
On Thursday at the Dubai Desert Classic, after what he called “probably the hardest, longest I’ve worked in a while pre-tournament,” the world’s No. 2-ranked player looked like himself again. At least for the most part.
The 24-year-old Cal graduate shot a 31 over his first nine and was in the lead at seven-under-par through 11 holes.
He bogeyed three of his final four holes and will head into Friday’s second round three strokes back of leader JB Hansen of Denmark, tied for ninth place after carding a 68.
“I’ve been thinking about everything, trying to figure out what to do,” Morikawa said after his opening round. “And sometimes that’s all you have and you’ve got to play with it, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Meanwhile, at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego as part of an early group on the course, fellow Cal grad Max Homa also shot a first-round, three-under 68. Homa, 31, had five birdies over the final 10 holes and was done for the day before the entire field had even started playing.
Another Cal alum, 30-year-old Brandon Hagy is at two under after shooting a 69.
At Dubai, Hansen played bogey-free golf to capture the lead with a 65 and Justin Harding of South Africa is one stroke back after coming in at 66. Five players, including Sergio Garcia, are tied for third at 67.
Morikawa, already a two-time major winner, won the Abu Dhabi event last year to clinch the European tour points title. But he struggled from start to finish at the same event last week, shootng four rounds in the 70s and barely making the cut.
Beginning his prep for Dubai on Monday, Morikawa said he hit the “reset button.”
“I had my agent and my caddie, and we were just literally sitting on the range for hours trying to figure out what to do,” he said before this week’s event got under way. “We know what’s not working. It’s just trying to get back to my old swing and trying to get back to what I know I can do. So, I still have a couple of things I’ve got to work out and feel, but I’m in a much better position right now . . . versus where I was last week.”
Morikawa has a history of successfully putting tough outings in his rear-view mirror. He tried not to over-think things this week, too.
“Sometimes you just have to find the center again. It happens,” he said. “Thankfully I was still able to learn a lot from it and show up this week with a fresh mind and ready to go.”
Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Kyle Terada, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo