Collin Morikawa Falls Apart in Third Round of Tour Championship

The remarkable shot-making Collin Morikawa displayed in the first two rounds of the Tour Championship disappeared in dramatic fashion on Saturday.

Morikawa had rounds of 61 and 64 on Thursday and Friday for a 36-hole course-record score of 125, which was a 15-under-par score and 16 under including the staggered scoring in the race for the FedEx Cup. However, in the third round at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, the former Cal golfer ballooned to a 3-over-par score of 73, putting him at 13 under par for the tournament.

Entering the third round, Morikawa was tied with Viktor Hovland for the lead in the battle for the FedEx Cup, but when the third round was completed after a mid-round rain delay, Morikawa found himself seven shots behind Hovland.

Everyone is well behind Hovland, who is 20 under par after a 4-under-par round of 66. That gives him a six-shot lead over Xander Schaufflele, who is in second place at 14-under after his 2-under 68 on Saturday.

Despite his disappointing round, Morikawa is tied for third place with Keegan Bradley, just one stroke behind Schauffele, so Morikawa will be playing for a lot of money even if he doesn’t catch Hovland.

Morikawa was not the only player who struggled Saturday. Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, made a birdie on the 18th hole, but still finished with a 3-over-par round of 73, That puts him at 11-under, nine shots off the lead after starting the tournament with a staggered score of 10-under. He is tied with Jon Rahm and Adam Shenk for fifth place.

Morikawa may have played himself out of contention for the $18 million prize that goes to the winner of the FedEx Cup, but it could have been worse.

He was at 4-over for the day when play was interrupted by threatening weather with Morikawa and Hovland ready to tee off on the 12th hole. Things improved slightly for Morikawa after play resumed, as he played the final seven holes in 1 under par, including a birdie on No. 16.

It did not make up for his slow start, though.

Morikawa went through the first 40 holes of the tournament without a single bogey. Things started to go south on him on the fifth hole.

Morikawa's first bogey of the tournament turned into a double-bogey on No. 5. This shot turned his round the wrong way and dropped him out of a share of the lead.

Collin Morikawa finds trouble on the fifth hole @TOURChamp.

His first bogey of the tournament is a double and he moves into a share of second at 14-under. pic.twitter.com/nzelDE74aB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 26, 2023

Morikawa then missed a short birdie putt on the sixth hole, and added bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes before the weather intervened.

Max Homa, the other former Cal golfer in the 30-man field, finds himself tied for 11th place, 12 strokes off the lead, after firing a 1-under 69 to put him at 8-under in the tournament.

Morikawa and Homa still have a lot to play for Sunday even if they don’t win the FedEx Cup. The prize money drops off after the $18 million that goes to the winner, but the top 10 finishers all will earn at least $1 million, as you can see in the payoffs below.

Win: $18,000,000

2: $6,500,000

3: $5,000,000

4: $4,000,000

5: $3,000,000

6: $2,500,000

7: $2,000,000

8: $1,500,000

9: $1,250,000

10: $1,000,000

11: $950,000

12: $900,000

13: $850,000

14: $800,000

15: $760,000

16: $720,000

17: $700,000

18: $680,000

19: $660,000

20: $640,000

21: $620,000

22: $600,000

23: $580,000

24: $565,000

25: $550,000

26: $540,000

27: $530,000

28: $520,000

29: $510,000

30: $500,000

Cover photo of Collin Morikawa is by John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports

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