Collin Morikawa Climbs to Tie For Fifth at Rocket Mortgage; Max Homa Makes Cut

Collin Morikawa made his first bogey in more than a week on Friday, but he followed that with an eagle on the next hole and emerged from the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit with a two-day score of 11 under par, just two strokes off the lead.

Morikawa wound up with a 5-under 67 at the Detroit Golf Club and tied with three others for fifth place headed into the weekend.

His fellow Cal grad, Max Homa, carded a 4-under 68 and also advanced to the weekend. His two-day score of minus-7 leaves him six strokes off the pace and part of a 12-way tie for 29th place.

Taylor Pendrith shot a second-round 64 and is tied for the lead with Taylor Moore, both at minus-13. Rickie Fowler and first-round co-leader Ludvig Abert are tied for third at 12 under.

Morikawa, who played bogey-free golf last Friday at the Travelers Championship (although he missed the cut) and again in the first round at Detroit, had three birdies on the way to shooting a 33 on the the front nine on Friday.

He suffered his first bogey of the tournament on No. 13 but recovered to log an eagle-3 on the par-5 14th. With a birdie on 16, the world’s 20th-ranked player finished the day at 67 and is part of a four-way tie for fifth place.

Morikawa hasn’t won a tournament since the British Open in July 2021, but he’s positioned to make a run this weekend. Over his past 54 holes, dating back to last week, he is at 18 under par with 17 birdies and an an eagle.

Homa, the highest-ranked player in the Rocket Mortgage field at No. 7, climbed from a tie for 39th place to a share of 29th in the second round.

His 68 on Friday included four birdies and two bogeys but also an eagle-3 on the par-5 17th hole.

Two other former Cal golfers failed to reach minus-4 to make the cut.

James Hahn, 41, shot a 1-under 71 for the second day in a row, finishing at minus-2. Byeong Hun An, after an opening-round 73, made four birdies and one bogey on Friday and shot 69 but also finished two strokes shy of advancing, tied for 100th place..

Cover photo of Max Homa by Kirthmon F. Dozier, USA Today

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