Morikawa’s workday is done early
He leads by six shots when he finishes, but margin is cut to three after two rain delays.
DUBLIN, Ohio — Among the lessons Collin Morikawa took away from missing his first cut as a pro was that his reliable cut shot had left him. He found at it Muirfield Village, and it sent him to a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Workday Charity Open.
Morikawa ran off four straight birdies after making the turn Friday, finished with another birdie after the first of two storm delays and shot six-under 66.
At 13 under, he was six shots ahead when he finished. He was four shots ahead over Sam Burns when his side of the field finished. And it was down to three after some remarkable play by Justin Thomas (66) and Kevin Streelman (64) in surprisingly strong gusts that followed the storm.
Thomas hasn’t made a bogey all week and finished his round with an eight-foot birdie putt. Streelman reached 11 under until a bogey on the par-three eighth near the end of his round. They will be in the final group Saturday, which will be played in threesomes because a pair of 75-minute delays from thunderstorms meant the second round didn’t finish.
That means Brooks Koepka has to wait to see if his big finish paid off.
Koepka birdied five of his last seven holes, closing with a 40-foot birdie putt for a 69. That put him at one-under 143, and he left in a tie for 68th with more than 30 players unable to finish.
“That’s what you’ve got to do. I never give up, never think you’re out of it, and you’ve just got to battle through it no matter what you’re doing,” Koepka said.