Strong Second Round Puts Morikawa in Contention at U.S. Open

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Former Cal golfer bounced back in a big way on Friday to put himself in the mix for a U.S. Open title.
After completing his suspended first round with a par on his one remaining hole for an opening-round 3-over 73, Morikawa put together seven birdies along with two bogeys for a 5-under-par, second-round score of 65 on Friday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
7 birdies. Not a 5 anywhere on the card.
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 19, 2026
Collin Morikawa is having himself a day!
Now solo 2nd. pic.twitter.com/xxpGH7E4qj
At the end of Thursday's play, Morikawa was tied for 72nd after completing 17 holes in his shortened round. That put him in danger of not making the cut, which includes the top 60 players and ties after two rounds.
But after Friday's work Morikawa stood at 2-under for the tournament and tied for fourth place, one stroke out of second place and five strokes behind leader Wyndham Clark, who shot a 1-under 69 on Friday.
Most of the field has not completed their second round as of 11:15 a.m. Pacific time, and some have not even started their second round, so a lot can change by the time Friday's play is completed. However, Morikawa's round of 65 tied Joaquin Neiman for the lowest second-round score of the 119 golfers who had completed their round as of 11:15 a.m. on Friday.
6️⃣5️⃣
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 19, 2026
Collin Morikawa in the clubhouse with the round of the day thus far. pic.twitter.com/Yo820hfoar
Making the cut is no longer a concern for Morikawa, who will now set his sights on winning his third major of his career and his first U.S. Open.
Michael Kim, the other Cal alumnus in the field, had yeat to tee off for this second round as of 11:15 a.m. Pacific time. He entered the day at 1-over.

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.