PGA Tour: Collin Morikawa shines at Workday Charity Open
By Tim Letcher
Collin Morikawa took the 18-hole lead at the Workday Charity Open on Thursday. Can he win for the second time on the PGA Tour?
Collin Morikawa has already established himself as one of the best young players on the PGA Tour. He continued that trend on Thursday with a sparkling first round in the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Morikawa finished his round at 7-under par on the day and he holds the lead after 18 holes of play. He was solid in his Thursday round all day long.
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It was a bit of a slow start for Morikawa on Thursday. He parred each of the first four holes and was not able to get anything going. However, once he did, he really got it going.
Morikawa eagled the par-5 fifth hole after sticking his second shot about four feet from the hole. He rolled in the putt to surge to 2-under par.
He certainly was not done there
Morikawa birdied the sixth hole with a putt from about eight feet to get to 3-under.
After pars on the seventh and eighth holes, Morikawa struck again, this time with a birdie at the par-4 ninth hole. He shot a 4-under 32 on the front nine.
Morikawa stayed hot as he made the turn, with a birdie on the 10th hole. After a par at the 11th, he birdied the 12th hole by making a 12-foot putt, moving to 6-under par in the process.
He would par the 13th and 14th holes before more fireworks. He birdied the par-5 15th hole, then he ran in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to get to 8-under par and two clear of the field. He would bogey the 18th hole, but his 7-under score was still the best of the day.
Prior to this week, Morikawa had been trending in the wrong direction. After a strong start to the season, his play since the PGA Tour’s return from the coronavirus had been inconsistent.
He was solo second at the Charles Schwab Challenge after losing to Daniel Berger in a playoff. He had multiple chances to win that event before settling for second.
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Since then, Morikawa tied for 64th at the RBC Heritage before missing the cut at the Travelers Championship. It was the first missed cut of his career.
Morikawa won the Barracuda Championship as a rookie last season and seems to have the game to compete with the tour’s best. After a bit of a downturn, he was back on his game on Thursday. And if history proves anything, look for Morikawa to be in contention all weekend at the Workday Charity Open.