Cal Golf: Collin Morikawa Stays Hot - Leads By 3 Strokes at Workday Charity Open

Former Cal star has second-best score ever on Muirfield course after two rounds

Collin Morikawa continued his red-hot play at the Workday Charity Open on Friday, carding a six-under 66 to forge a three-stroke lead at the halfway of the PGA event at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

His 13-under score of 131 is the second-lowest in course history through two rounds. Only Jason Duffner, at the 2017 Memorial, scored better on this course through two rounds with a with a 14-under 130,

Morikawa offset three bogeys by making nine birdies on Friday and is outdistancing Americans Justin Thomas and Kevin Streelman, who are tied for second place at 134. Streelman shot a second-round 64.

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A thunderstorm temporarily halted play after Morikawa was finished for the day but before others had completed the second round.

“Who knows who's going to take it deep today?" the 23-year-old Cal grad said. "Whether I have the lead or not, I've got to go into the weekend feeling like I've got to make the same amount of birdies I have the past two days. I feel like there's a lot of birdies out there for me especially, the way I've been hitting it.”

Morikawa had a six-stroke lead over runner-up Ian Poulter when play was stopped. Canadian Nick Taylor climbed within three strokes of Moriwaka through eight holes. But Taylor had four bogeys over his final 10 holes and faded to 71 for the day and is six strokes off the lead.

The Workday Charity Classic replaces the John Deere Classic for this year only. It’s being held at Muirfield, the same course that will host the Memorial next week. The course has been set up to be a little easier this week, with slower greens and a rough that isn’t as thick or high.

Starting the day on the 10th hole, Morikawa shot a 35 over his first nine holes, including three birdies and two bogeys. He sizzled across the front nine with a 31 that featured six birdies — four in a row at one point — and just one bogey.

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Well-positioned to pursue his second career victory as a professional, Morikawa returned to action this week after missing the cut in his most recent outing two weeks ago. He had made 22 straight cuts, three short of Tiger Woods’ record of 25 consecutive cuts to begin his career.

"At the end of the day, you're out there to win tournaments," Morikawa said. "If you miss the cut, make it by whatever, you just want to learn from each week. And like I said, I learned a lot more from those two days missing the cut than I have in a lot of events so far when I've been finishing whatever."

Former Cal golfer Max Homa shot a 71 on Friday but missed the cut at one-under through two rounds.

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*** Tiger Woods announces he will re-start his season next week at the Memorial:

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