Collin Morikawa will enter the weekend at the Memorial Tournament tied for eighth place, but only after suffering a pair of double bogeys over the final four holes Friday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
The world’s fourth-ranked player, who began the day in second place, wound up with a 3-over 75 in the second round and is five strokes off the pace at minus-2.
Things went worse for three other former Golden Bears at the Memorial:
— Max Homa, who shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday, had two double-bogeys in his second-round 79 that dropped him 30 spots to a tie for 31st place at plus-3.
— Michael Kim had the best round of the four Cal golfers on Friday, carding a 1-under 71 that kept barely him alive for the weekend with a two-day score of 5 over par that has him tied for 50th place.
— Byrong Hun An had a quadruple-bogey 9 on the way to a 9-over 81 and he completed the first two days at plus-11 — well beyond the cut line of plus-5.
First-round leader Ben Griffin shot an even-par 72 and now shares the top spot at minus-7 with Nick Taylor, who posted a 68 on Friday.
Akshay Bhatia is two strokes back at 5 under after a second-round 69. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the tournament’s defending champion, shot a 70 for the second day in a row and is fourth at 4 under.
Morikawa began the day two strokes back of Griffin and pulled even when he made birdies on Nos. 2 and 3. He lost those two strokes with bogeys on 7 and 10 and things hadn’t yet gone sideways.
Morikawa sandwiched double bogeys on Nos. 15 and 17 around a birdie on the 16th that left him in a four-way tie for eighth place.
Homa, whose 68 on Thursday was an encouraging sign after more than a year of struggles, managed just one birdie in the second round. His troubles elsewhere left him with a score nine strokes worse than the day before. He is 10 strokes behind Griffin and Taylor.
Kim played his front nine in 1 under par before a back nine with three birdies and three bogeys. He slipped into the weekend after the cut line was ultimately adjusted to 5 over.
An wound up second-to-last among all players who completed two rounds. His two birdies were swallowed up by five bogeys, a double bogey on No. 18 and his ghastly 9 on the par-5 11th hole.
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Over the past several months, Bryson DeChambeau has kept busy—not only competing on the LIV Golf circuit and appearing in all four major PGA Tour events, but also taking part in the recently released film "Happy Gilmore 2," which features appearances from several professional golfers. Ahead of the film’s release last Friday, a premiere event was held, where DeChambeau was asked to share his boldest “hot take” in all of sports. While he admitted his answer wasn’t particularly controversial, he didn’t hesitate to declare who he believes is the greatest golfer of all time. “I don’t think it’s hot, but I think Tiger [Woods] is the greatest golfer of all time,” DeChambeau said. Many consider Tiger Woods the undisputed 'GOAT'—and rightfully so. His résumé is unmatched in golf history. He burst onto the scene with his professional debut at age 20 and went on several dominant runs where he seemed unbeatable, regardless of the course or competition Woods is a 15-time major champion with 82 PGA Tour victories, tied for the most all-time. He has been named PGA Tour Player of the Year a record 11 times and is one of only six players to complete the career Grand Slam—winning each of the four majors at least once. The latest to join that elite group was his close friend Rory McIlroy, who completed the feat earlier this year by capturing his first Masters title. Tiger's achievements are even more remarkable considering the extensive injuries he's endured throughout his career. Most recently, he was preparing to compete in this year’s Masters before suffering a ruptured Achilles, forcing him to withdraw. Now at age 49—and turning 50 in December—it's unclear what version of Woods we’ll see if and when he returns. At this point, it's likely he’ll limit his appearances to the major championships.
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