Collin Morikawa went from nearly missing the cut to storming back into contention at the US Open after the best putting round of his career.
The 27-year-old carded his first ever bogey-free round at a US Open on day three, sinking four birdies to shoot four-under 66.
He did so thanks to the best statistical putting day of his career, which saw him make every single putt inside ten feet.
Speaking after his round, Morikawa said it was nice to finally get his putter going after a tough first two days.
“Just made the putts that I needed to. Yesterday, I think I missed everything that I could have made. First day was kind of a little bit of both, so it was nice to see putts go in.”
Morikawa gained a whopping 4.84 strokes on the field thanks to his putting, but when asked about his performance on the greens, he said he didn’t feel like it was his best round with the putter, pointing instead to his Open Championship win in 2021 at Royal St. George’s Golf Club.
“I think I putted better at the Open, to be honest. The Open I made everything when I won in ’21,” he said.
“Numbers don’t lie. I’ll take that. I mean, look, after yesterday’s round, didn’t really do much. I just felt like they were getting really bumpy yesterday late in the day. They got a little crusty. Sometimes they just don’t fall. Today I just kind of made sure I stuck with everything that we’ve been working on.
“It was nice to see the first one go in and build off that.”
Collin Morikawa: +4.84 strokes gained putting today in his bogey-free 66 - his best strokes gained putting round of his careerJune 15, 2024
Morikawa started steady with one birdie in his first nine, before posting three more on the back, including a clutch putt on the 18th that inspired a few fist pumps.
He said his plan was to get back to even par – and he seemed to execute that plan to perfection.
“I was trying to get to even,” Morikawa said. “You can’t be aggressive out here. I think if you’re aggressive, it can put you in really bad spots. You got to just kind of take your 30-footers.
“If you have a wedge, sometimes you’re able to go at pins. Didn’t play the par fives as well as I have been. Look, you can’t play aggressive out here at all. You play aggressive to the right parts, you take what you can. If you get lucky, you get lucky.”
The first bogey-free round @USOpenGolf in @Collin_Morikawa's career 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CFd3D8OD9yJune 15, 2024
His third round got him back to within five shots of the lead when he signed his card.
While there is still work to do, and results to go his way, Morikawa was definitive about his goals heading into the final round.
“To win,” he said. “I mean, look, if I play the way I did today, who knows what could happen. This course is only going to get tougher. I know it’s not going to be easy.
“Today was not easy by any means. I just put it in the right spot, kept the ball in front of me, really just played very simple golf.
"Just kind of build on that hopefully. Look, even par, I was trying to get to that today, so very happy."
