Cal Sports Report

Ex-Cal Golfer Collin Morikawa Has the Round of His Life on Saturday

Collin Morikawa has struggled in recent years, but he tore up the Pebble Beach course in the third round
Jake Curtis|
Collin Morikawa hits out of the bunker on the 18th hole and manages a birdie on the final hole Saturday
Collin Morikawa hits out of the bunker on the 18th hole and manages a birdie on the final hole Saturday | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

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Former Cal golfer Collin Morikawa produced what might have been the best round of his pro career on Saturday when it was least expected.

Morikawa has struggled on the PGA Tour in recent years, and his 2026 season did not start out great either. He missed the cut in his first event of this year, the Sony Open in Hawaii, and last week he finished tied for 54th at the Phoenix Open.

Morikawa has not captured a PGA Tour title since October of 2023, his world ranking has slipped to No. 19, and there was no indication that trend would change after two rounds of this week’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am when he was sitting in 25th place, eight strokes off the lead, heading into Saturday’s third round.

But suddenly, without warning, Morikawa tore up the Pebble Beach Golf Links course on Saturday.

He collected 11 birdies against one bogey to fire a 10-under-par 62, giving him a three-round score of 17-under.  It puts him tied for second place, just two shots behind leader Akshay Bhatia, who is at 19-under after shooting a 4-under 68 on Saturday.

“The last two days have felt kind of like my old self in just being able to control the golf ball,” said Morikawa on the PGA Tour website.

Morikawa talked about his "small mindset adjustment" in the video below:

Morikawa’s third round was arguably the best round of his career, which includes six Tour victories, including two majors. He was the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world in 2022.

His career low round was a 61 he fired in the opening round of the 2023 TOUR Championship at the East Lake Golf Club on August 24, 2023.

But par on that course is 70, and Morikawa’s round of 61 was just 9 under par.  His 10-under-par 62 on Saturday came on the tricky, windy, par-72 Pebble Beach course.

“Ball was going where I wanted, putts were dropping when I needed them," Morikawa said. "Just never got ahead of myself. This game is stressful enough and I think I make it even more stressful for whatever reason.”

He had birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 18.  The only blemish was a bogey-5 on No. 10, but that did not slow his momentum.

The question, of course, is whether this was a fluke or an indication that his game is back on track. We may find out in the final round on Sunday.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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