Even a Hiccup on No. 18 Can't Spoil Collin Morikawa's Day at Royal Birkdale

It was a pretty good day at Royal Birkdale for two-time major winner Collin Morikawa. Could have been great.

The 29-year-old Cal grad got off to a terrific start in the first round of The 154th Open at Southport, England.

Morikawa carded five birdies over a span of nine holes Thursday and was tied for fourth place and within two strokes of the lead before a bogey on No. 18 knocked back to an 11-way share of 13th place at 2-under 68.

The 2021 winner of the British major is three strokes back of surprise first-rounder leader Jackson Suber, a 26-year-old Ole Miss grad who is ranked No. 115 in the world and still searching for his first PGA Tour victory. Suber shot a 65 that included an eagle on the 17th hole.

*** How Morikawa changed his irons to deal with the hard turf links in Europe

England’s Daniel Brown and South Korean Sundae Im are tied for second at 4-under 66 and nine players share fourth place.

Morikawa, ranked No. 7 in the world, began the day with a bogey. He then birdied five of the next nine holes — Nos. 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10 — before making six straight pars.

Morikawa recorded top-20 finishes this year at the Masters and U.S. Open, but was 55th at the PGA Championship. His victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in January was his seventh as a professional.

He has good company in 13th place, sharing it with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and nine others. Scheffler, The Open’s defending champion, had four birdies over the first six holes, but closed the day with two bogeys and 10 pars over the final 12.

Friday’s second round will be challenging for Max Homa and Michael Kim, fellow Golden Bears. Only the top 70 golfers (and ties) will make the cut to play the weekend, and neither Homa nor Kim is a lock to get that done.

Homa is in the mix after a 1-over 71 left him in a tie for 60th place, but 24 other golfers — including veterans Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay — also shot 71. Twenty-two more players are just one stroke back of that pack.

Homa, 35, is playing The Open for the fifth time, including 2023, when he finished in a tie for 10th place.

Ranked 74th in the world, Homa had birdies on Nos. 5 and 17 on Thursday along with bogeys on 6, 8 and 15.

Kim faces a steeper climb. He shot a 3-over 73 and shares 107th place.

Kim, 33, is hoping to avoid missing the cut for a second straight year at this event. His best finish at The Open was a tie for 35th place in 2018.

Kim posted bogeys on Nos. 4 and 6, a double-bogey on the 12th and another bogey on No. 15 to enter the final three holes at five over. The world’s 55th-ranked player made progress with birdies on 16 and 17 before closing with a par.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

Add us as a preferred source on Google