Collin Morikawa Descends, Then Climbs, the U.S. Open Leaderboard

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Midway by way of the U.S. Open, Collin Morikawa stood atop the leaderboard trying so as to add a 3rd main championship to his résumé.

But on shifting day, as Saturdays are known as on the PGA Tour, Morikawa uncharacteristically went backward. After a seven-over-par 77, Morikawa discovered himself six photographs off the tempo when he teed off on Sunday. It proved to be too nice a deficit to beat to maneuver again into rivalry, however he walked off the course at the Country Club greater than glad, having improved his rating by 11 photographs from the earlier spherical.

“I don’t know if I found something,” he stated after his 66 moved him to 2 beneath par and right into a tie for fifth. “I think it just taught me that I need to go play golf. This year has been so focused on trying to hit that cut and trying to be so perfect, and that’s who I am. But just go out and play. Things are going to be tough. The ball is not going to go where you want. But just figure it out.”

Morikawa, the defending British Open champion and the 2020 P.G.A. Championship winner, performed a bogey-free again 9 in dank, cool circumstances. He got here to the 18th inexperienced figuring he wanted to make a birdie to have any probability. But his putt got here up a foot brief.

“I had some momentum, kind of carrying on,” stated Morikawa, who shot a 32, three beneath par, on the again 9. “If I could have gotten to four, that would be a nice number to post. It was still a few short, but it was a much-needed round.”

Morikawa shot 66 on Friday, rising as a co-leader, with Joel Dahmen, after two rounds. Then got here the catastrophe on Saturday, when his spherical featured 4 bogeys, two double-bogeys and only one birdie.

He had stated earlier than the match that he was struggling together with his iron play. He usually performs a left-to-right reduce shot, however recently the ball had been going right-to-left, he stated. But Morikawa had little hassle the first two days.

“With the way I had been playing, I did not see that coming,” he stated.

He added: “I hope many seven-overs aren’t coming in the future. But it just kind of made me refocus and kind of just get back into things. Just get it off the tee, onto the fairway, and then worry about it from there.”

Morikawa known as Sunday’s spherical “a huge boost” and stated he would keep in mind the weekend extra for his three sub-70 scores than the Saturday meltdown. Before the third spherical, his worst rating in a U.S. Open had are available in 2020 at Winged Foot in New York, the place he opened with a 76 and missed the reduce.

Last 12 months, he completed in a tie for fourth at Torrey Pines close to San Diego. He then went on to win his second main, besting Jordan Spieth by two strokes at Royal St. George’s.

As was the case final 12 months, Morikawa stated he deliberate to play the Scottish Open to tune up for this 12 months’s British Open at St. Andrews, a course he stated he had not but performed. But he stated he understood it might be quite a bit totally different for him this time round for 2 causes: his standing as the reigning champion and the venue, the historic Old Course.

“I think I’m going to have to do a really good job prioritizing every single day and splitting up what I need to focus on,” he stated. “Whether it’s the golf or whether I just need to enjoy just being there at St. Andrews, back as the defending champion.”

He added, “There’s going to be a couple more distractions, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be focusing on golf when the time comes.”

This was Morikawa’s 14th official tour occasion of the season. He tied for second at the Genesis Invitational in February and positioned second at the CJ Cup at Summit in the fall. He completed fifth at the Masters Tournament, closing in fashion by holing out from the bunker on the 72nd gap.

In addition to his two majors, Morikawa has three different PGA Tour victories, all coming earlier than he turned 25. He gained twice final season; the World Golf Championships and the British Open. He additionally gained the DP World Championship in 2021. Entering the U.S. Open, he was ranked No. 7 in the Official World Golf Rankings and was twentieth in factors on the FedEx Cup record.

In addition to the golf occasions Morikawa has deliberate, there is also a marriage coming as much as his longtime girlfriend, Katherine Zhu. Unlike Brooks Koepka, who publicized his June marriage ceremony, Morikawa wouldn’t reveal any plans of the impending nuptials.