Cal Golf: Bogey on No. 18 at RBC Heritage Drops Collin Morikawa to 54th Place
Collin Morikawa, fresh off a fifth-place finish at the Masters, played a nearly flawless first round at the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C., on Thursday.
Until the 18th.
Morikawa finds himself at one-under par 70 after his only bogey of the day on the final hole at Harbour Town Golf Links. Through 17 holes, the 25-year-old Cal grad had wrapped 15 pars around birdies on Nos. 5 and 6.
But with a bogey on the par-4 18th, the world’s second-ranked player is part of a 19-way tie for 54th place that also includes No. 8 Justin Thomas.
Morikawa finished in a tie for seventh place at the RBC Heritage tournament a year ago.
James Hahn, a 40-year-old South Korean who spent the 2003 season at Cal, is at two-under 69. That puts him in a 21-way logjam for 32nd place along with the likes of Jordan Spieth and Webb Simpson.
Hahn had birdies on Nos. 11, 15 and 16 to finish strong.
Cameron Young, a 24-year-old former Wake Forest golfer seeking his first victory on the PGA tour, shot a bogey-free, eight-under 63 to forge a two-stroke lead. It was his first round in the 60s since shooting a 65 at the Honda Classic more than six weeks ago.
Young shot consecutive rounds of 77 at the Masters to miss the cut. "Honestly, I wanted to play last weekend," Young said. "But in terms of this week, (missing the cut) is not the end of the world."
He finished the lowest round of his professional career with a birdie on No. 18, where a red-and-white striped lighthouse serves as a backdrop.
Joaquin Niemann, a 23-year-old from Chile who has won twice on the tour, had seven birdies over the final 14 holes to score a 65 for second place.
Six players, including Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry, are tied for third at five-under 66, and 11 others share ninth place at 67. Lowry finished third at the Masters but Cantlay, the reigning FedEx Cup champion, was coming off a disappointing 39th-place finish at Augusta National.
Morgan Hoffman played his first PGA Tour round since October 2019 after stepping away due to muscular dystrophy. He shot an even-par 71. "The game didn't feel anywhere near as bad as I thought it was, so it was pretty exciting," he said.
Masters champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is taking the week off. Ninth-ranked Dustin Johnson included a double-bogey in his one-over round of 72 that has him tied for 92nd place.
Cover photo of Collin Morikawa by Michael Madrid, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo