KAPALUA, Hawaii — Colin Morikawa, who missed out on a win for the first time in his young career last year, is playing as if he wants to end it quickly.
Morikawa hit his irons early and took advantage of several scoring holes late in the second round to post a 7-under 66 to take a two-shot lead at the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Friday.
He went 16-under 130 and no bogeys over two rounds at Kapalua’s Plantation Course.
Masters champion Scotty Schaeffler had a good laugh with US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick on the first tee and took nine birdies in the round of 66 to take a two-shot lead over Kapalua rookie JJ Spawn, 68.
With Rory McIlroy opting out this week, Schaeffler will be tied for second in the top three to return to world No. 1 this week.
Jordan Spieth had two eagles, one on the 7-iron a few inches from the Albatross on the par-5 5th hole, and a 66. He was three shots behind.
Morikawa isn’t usually in Kapalua for a winner-only season start. But in this new year of trying to collect top plays more often, the PGA Tour has moved from his 2022 winner only to include players who have reached the finale of his FedEx Cup in Eastlake. expanded the field.
Morikawa hit six consecutive birdies to start on the back nine to share the 18-hole lead. He did most of the damage early on a nice Friday afternoon on Maui with a bit of wind. It started with a 20-foot birdie putt on the opening hole followed by 3-foot and 8-foot short irons.
From there, everyone else did well to keep up the pace.
Schaeffler was introduced at the first tee, mentioning all four wins from last year’s WM Phoenix Open to the Masters. Next was Fitzpatrick, who beat Schaeffler with one shot at Brookline. He was introduced as the US Open champion.
“You don’t have it,” Fitzpatrick said as they laughed.
The score remained low with Billy Horschel (71) and Chad Ramey (76) two overs.
Morikawa had a chance to match the 36-hole scoring record of 17-under 129 set by Cameron Smith last year. Morikawa muffed a chip short of his 18th green and saw it reduced to just 30 feet. His long birdie putt hit him on the lip.
no matter. He’s still leading, and for the first time since last summer’s U.S. Open, he’s leading with 36 of his holes.
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