Morikawa finishes strong....

3,764 Views | 19 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by 91Cal
dbush518
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Staff
Collin Morikawa shot a two-under par 69 in the final round of the U.S. Open to finish in a tie for 35th, a pretty good showing for a young pro in his first major and second tournament since he turned pro. His career is off to a promising start.
sandiegobears
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It's time for Cal AD and Cal golf to *step up* and start promoting the Cal golf brand. Seriously, while the Furdies across the bay continue to get Furd mentioned at every possible instance, including Tiger, it's time for Cal golf to start pushing the PR bandwagon. After a few average years, the program is really strong again, but in order to keep it there and get potential future players excited, it's time for more publicity.

Collin Morikawa - future PGA star, played very well at Pebble this week. But did you hear him mentioned over amateur Furdie Wu? Why? Because he turned pro a few weeks ago, but they are both basically the same age/year, both played at NCAAs and lead their teams, and both had the same final score at Pebble. Point being, I never heard Cal mentioned once (they may have, just not when I watched), but they couldn't stop mentioning amateur Wu despite essentially no difference. That is a major mistake by Cal PR to not at least get in front and have it mentioned. He was the freaking 2018 player of the year in college!

The rest:

Byeong (Ben) An - solid PGA pro, no wins yet, but it's gonna happen
Max Homa - solid PGA pro, trending upward and has a PGA win this year and likely more in the future
Michael Kim - solid PGA pro, had a PGA win last year
James Hahn - 2 PGA tour wins
Brandon Hagy - still out there on web.com tour, has a ton of PGA starts

And there are others in different tours...

juarezbear
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sandiegobears said:

It's time for Cal AD and Cal golf to *step up* and start promoting the Cal golf brand. Seriously, while the Furdies across the bay continue to get Furd mentioned at every possible instance, including Tiger, it's time for Cal golf to start pushing the PR bandwagon. After a few average years, the program is really strong again, but in order to keep it there and get potential future players excited, it's time for more publicity.

Collin Morikawa - future PGA star, played very well at Pebble this week. But did you hear him mentioned over amateur Furdie Wu? Why? Because he turned pro a few weeks ago, but they are both basically the same age/year, both played at NCAAs and lead their teams, and both had the same final score at Pebble. Point being, I never heard Cal mentioned once (they may have, just not when I watched), but they couldn't stop mentioning amateur Wu despite essentially no difference. That is a major mistake by Cal PR to not at least get in front and have it mentioned. He was the freaking 2018 player of the year in college!

The rest:

Byeong (Ben) An - solid PGA pro, no wins yet, but it's gonna happen
Max Homa - solid PGA pro, trending upward and has a PGA win this year and likely more in the future
Michael Kim - solid PGA pro, had a PGA win last year
James Hahn - 2 PGA tour wins
Brandon Hagy - still out there on web.com tour, has a ton of PGA starts

And there are others in different tours...


I also bristle at all the Furd felating, but Wu was at -2 going into the final round and Furd just won the NCAA's. That's the main reason why they got a lot of air time. It's always going to be a struggle to stay up with the Furd mentions until Max or one of the other guys wins. Furd in general is like Duke Basketball but in all sports. It's a major brand name with national recognition. Meanwhile, we will slog on.....
swan
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Colin currently 5 under (tied for 10th) at the Travelers. I recall several insiders opining that Colin was potentially the best player to come through the Cal program and destined for pro success. He certainly appears to be on his way.
Go Colin, Go Bears.
Jeff82
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Part of the problem was that Wu, as an am, was still in his Furd gear, while Colin was in Adidas/Taylormade from head to toe. Meanwhile, An played with tiger on Saturday. Here is our conversation on the range afterward (I was working as a volunteer):

Me: Did you beat the Stanfurd guy today?

Ben (smiling): Yeah, I did.

Me: That a boy!!!!
Polodad
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Making a move today. Currently 3rd in this week's event.
OBear073akaSMFan
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Polodad said:

Making a move today. Currently 3rd in this week's event.
3rd round, just started on TV CBS (705 Xfinity). Just in time to see Colin birdie the 11th hole to tie for 2nd and only 1 stroke behind the leader!
Polodad
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Now tied for the lead at -15.
FuzzyWuzzy
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Polodad said:

Now tied for the lead at -15.
Just tuned in to CBS. Collin now tied for lead at -17 thru 13 holes.
OBear073akaSMFan
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FuzzyWuzzy said:

Polodad said:

Now tied for the lead at -15.
Just tuned in to CBS. Collin now tied for lead at -17 thru 13 holes.
Damn tied going into 18th hole but Colin's almost birdied the 17th when the ball rimmed the hole. Everyone thought it was in!!
sandiegobears
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5 of the 6 guys mentioned in top 21 at Phoenix Open (Kim not playing):

An -12
Homa -10
Morikawa -9
Hahn -8
Hagy -8

Impressive.

Jeff82
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Particularly good for Hagy, who needs to make money to keep his card. All the others I think are in other exemption categories.
juarezbear
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Jeff82 said:

Particularly good for Hagy, who needs to make money to keep his card. All the others I think are in other exemption categories.
Agreed. Next weekend will be very interesting. The AT&T at Pebble and the others is always a great tourney.
swan
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Collin's unblemished record of making the cut was in jeopardy after shooting +2 (84th) in the first round at Riviera, but his streak appears to be intact after today's -4 which currently places him tied for 28th heading into "moving day". To get perspective on what this means just take a look at the who's who of golf who have missed the cut in recent tournaments: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Zach Johnson and Jordan Spieth. Also add in Brandt Snedeker, Harold Varner, Branden Grace, James Hahn, Graeme McDowell, Zach Johnson, Victor Hoveland, Ryan Palmer, Ryan Moore, , Luke Donald, Kyle Stanley, Matt Wolff and Cam Smith.

Add those who missed the Genesis cut: Joaquin Niemann, Bubba Watson, Jhony Vegas, Jason Day, Cam Champ and Justin Thomas.
wifeisafurd
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Hahn btw is having another good LA Open.
swan
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There was plenty of positive mo on day three at Riviera; Max Homa shot a wicked -6 to vault 26 places into a tie for 8th. Colin shot a -3 to stand at tied for 17th along with Hahn. Let's hope all three can shoot under par tomorrow and fatten their bank accounts.
GRRAAH
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Homa, Hahn an Colin all within 3 shots of lead with 8-10 holes to play! What a bonanza !!
91Cal
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Finishing 5th, 13th and 26th is not bad!
wifeisafurd
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Posted this on the Insider forum:

Followed Max's back 9. He found himself in second 2 strokes behind Scott and got aggressive starting with Par 3 16th. He took a direct line at the pin tucked in the right hand corner, came up short in the deep bunker, and really had no room to work with if he wanted to make sure the ball got out. Ran the ball about 15 feet past and missed the putt. On the long 17th Par 5, he creamed a drive (about 30 yards ahead fo DJ), took a mid-iron at the pin, went to far and ended o the back of the green, 2 putted for bird. On 18 from the rough, he again went right at a tough pin position, tough chip and missed a 10 footer coming back. Unfortunately, some dick head on 18 screamed something as Max was over is putt, and he had to back off and putt again. The fan got literally booed by the amphitheater surrounding the green, and Max got a big round of applause, but nevertheless he missed the putt. With some irony, if you take away the two late bogeys, he is in playoff with the winner. Overall a good showing by Cal grads Home, Hahn and Morikowa.

Collin who played 2 foursomes ahead of Max, had an inconsistent day with some bad shots made not so bad with good short game, and some great shots coupled with missing some makable putts. Hahn played well on the holes I saw him. Solid player.

Riv played tough today with some hard pin positions.

Add: if you want a treat, follow Collin in an early round, with less gallery, and listen to his conversation with his caddy. Even an old golf fart like me can learn a lot.

wifeisafurd
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wifeisafurd said:

Posted this on the Insider forum:

Followed Max's back 9. He found himself in second 2 strokes behind Scott and got aggressive starting with Par 3 16th. He took a direct line at the pin tucked in the right hand corner, came up short in the deep bunker, and really had no room to work with if he wanted to make sure the ball got out. Ran the ball about 15 feet past and missed the putt. On the long 17th Par 5, he creamed a drive (about 30 yards ahead fo DJ), took a mid-iron at the pin, went to far and ended o the back of the green, 2 putted for bird. On 18 from the rough, he again went right at a tough pin position, tough chip and missed a 10 footer coming back. Unfortunately, some dick head on 18 screamed something as Max was over is putt, and he had to back off and putt again. The fan got literally booed by the amphitheater surrounding the green, and Max got a big round of applause, but nevertheless he missed the putt. Overall a good showing by Cal grads Home, Hahn and Morikowa.

Collin who played 2 foursomes ahead of Max, had an inconsistent day with some bad shots made not so bad with good short game, and some great shots coupled with missing some makable putts. Hahn played well on the holes I saw him. Solid player.

Riv played tough today with some hard pin positions.

Add: if you want a treat, follow Collin in an early round, with less gallery, and listen to his conversation with his caddy. Even an old golf fart like me can learn a lot.


91Cal
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Thank you for sharing...love walking the opening day/early rounds when the gallery is sparse. Many of the players will engage with a nod when you're the only clapping for a nice shot/putt.
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