Collin Morikawa Stays Hot at St. Jude With Second-Round 66

Collin Morikawa delivered a second straight strong outing at the St. Jude Championship, suggesting he is ready to make a run in the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs.

The 28-year-old Cal grad fired a 5-under 65 on Friday on the heels of a 66 in the opening round and was tied for second place at 9 under par when he left the course with dozens of players yet to finish.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood, also in the clubhouse, shot a 64 after a 63 on Thursday and had the lead at minus-13.

The St. Jude at TPC Southwind in Memphis is the first leg of the three-week FedEx Cup playoffs. The field of 69 will be cut to 50 on Sunday, leading to the BMW Championship at suburban Baltimore. From there, the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings will play the season-ending Tour Championship at Atlanta, where the winner pockets a $10 million prize.

Morikawa, who finished second to Scottie Scheffler in this event last year, already has clinched a spot at the BMW by virtue to his No. 19 spot in the standings. 

But he had not played well this summer, missing the cut in his two most recent events, including the Open Championship at Scotland. He is No. 6 in the official world rankings but has not won a tournament since October 2023.

Now using his fifth different caddie — Mark Urbanek —since April, Morikawa has been sharp for two days in Memphis.

He had three birdies and an eagle-2 on the ninth hole Friday during a bogey-free round. On Thursday, Morikawa assembled five birdies against a single bogey.

Scheffler is two strokes back of Morikawa at minus-7 after a wild second round score of 66 in which he had eight birdies and four bogeys. 

Cal alum Michael Kim is in trouble after shooting 2-over 72 for the second day in a row, leaving him at plus-4 and tied for 64th place. He had three bogeys on the back nine Friday and needs a big weekend recovery to reach at least a two-way tie for 20th place to qualify for the BMW, according to NBC Sports.