Collin Morikawa reached 3-over-par after 17 holes Thursday when first-round play at the U.S. Open was suspended, leaving the two-time major champion outside the position he needs to survive the cut. He was tied for 72nd when play stopped and now has Friday to finish the second round and stay inside the top 60 and ties.
Shinnecock Hills Starts Late
Morning fog delayed the start by about two hours, and the weather disruption left 49 players without a finished first round when play was halted. A few golfers still had as many as seven holes left, so the board at Shinnecock Hills was still moving when the day ended.
Michael Kim did finish, posting a 1-under-par 71, while Wyndham Clark was at 6-under after 16 holes. Morikawa’s number sat on the other side of that range, and the gap put him in immediate cut-line trouble heading into Friday.
Morikawa And The Cut Line
The pressure on Morikawa is sharper because he is ranked 10th in the world and has a U.S. Open record that usually keeps him in the mix. He has missed the cut only once, in 2020, and his finishes of fourth in 2021, fifth in 2022 and tied for 23rd last year show how unusual this position is for him.
There is also the back issue he has been managing. Before the U.S. Open, Morikawa said, "I've been grinding this kind of back injury since The Players." He also said, "There's still a trust factor that I'm looking for that I'm trying to find this week, I think, going into tomorrow and into next week essentially."
Friday At U.S. Open
Morikawa said, "But it's just building in this trust." He added, "I'm still a little bit on edge just because I don't want it to happen again." That leaves him with a simple task on Friday: complete the second round and stay among the top 60 and ties, or watch the tournament move on without him.
He has won the 2020 PGA Championship and The Open Championship in 2021, and his best major finish since then was third at the 2024 Masters. At Shinnecock Hills, though, the target is narrower than that résumé suggests.
