Collin Morikawa, Max Homa Struggle in U.S. Open First Round -- Updated
Former Cal golfers Collin Morikawa and Max Homa have some work to do Friday to avoid missing the cut at the U.S. Open after struggling in the opening round on Thursday.
Russell Hensley and Louis Oosthuizen share the the lead at 4 under par, although Oosthuizen only finished 16 holes before darkness halted play at about 8 p.m. Pacific time. Hensley has the lead in the clubhouse with a first-round 67 on the Torrey Pines South course in San Diego.
Those two hold a one-stroke lead over Francesco Molinari and Rafa Cabrera Bello. Forty players are within four shots of the lead.
Thirty-two players did not complete their first-round Thursday and will have to finish the opening round on Friday morning before starting their second round.
Morikawa, one of the pre-event favorites, finished the day with a 4-over-par 75, leaving him eight strokes off the pace and in a tie for 96th place.
Homa recorded a 5-over-par 76, and he is in a tie for 110th place, nine strokes behind the leaders.
The top 60 golfers and ties after two rounds will make the cut and play the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday.
Henley, who missed the cut two weeks ago at The Memorial and finished 71st at the PGA Championships last month. Henley has never finished in the top 10 in his 26 majors, missing the cut in eight of them, and has finished no higher than 25th in his seven U.S. Open appearances.
Asked after his round on Thursday Henley was asked what kind of mentality is required to compete favorably in a major.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," he said. "I haven't exactly played great consistently in the majors or U.S. Open."
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First-round play started about an hour and a half late because of morning fog, but the first day is over for Morikawa and Homa, both whom started their round on the 10th hole.
Morikawa, one of the favorites in the event, had an eagle in his round but still finished at 4-over. He had six bogeys as well as a double-bogey 6 on No. 5 (Morikawa’s 14th hole of the day).
Morikawa's scorecard:
The one bright spot on Morikawa's second round came when he eagled the 18th hole (Morikawa's ninth hole of the day):
Morikawa missed the cut in the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and that was the only time he missed the cut in the six majors he has played.
Challenging day for Collin Morikawa
Homa had a terrible start to his round, recording a triple bogey on his third hole and a double bogey on his fifth. That left him at 5-over after just five holes. He settled down and had just one bogey the rest of the way and added a birdie on his ninth hole (No. 18), but he is still nine shots off the lead.
Homa's scorecard:
Homa has missed the cut in the last five majors he entered. He finished tied for 64th in 2019 PGA Championship, the only major in which he made the cut.
Max Homa lines up a putt on the picturesque course
Here is how some of the prominent players performed Thursday.
---Brooks Koepka, who played in the same threesome as Morikawa, shot a 2-under 69.
---Jon Rahm also shot a 2-under-par 69, leaving him two shots off the lead.
---Xander Schauffele also shot 2-under 69 Thursday.
---Rory McIlroy shot a 1-under-par 70, three shots back.
---Bryson DeChambeau shot a 2-over 73, so he is close to the cutline.
---PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson had a first-round score of 4-over 75. On several occasions during his round, Mickelson was distracted by spectators who did not switch their cell phone cameras off. On the 13th hole, he backed off a shot three times o ask that a cell camera be switched off.
"It's part of professional golf," Mickelson said. "You have to learn to deal with it. I don't understand why you just can't turn that little button on the side into silent."
---Dustin Johnson fired an even-part 70.
---Jordan Spieth has virtually played himself out of contention with a 6-over-par round of 77.
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