Two rounds into the tournament, Collin Morikawa shares the first position in the Tour Championship with Viktor Hovland. Before the second round, he shared the same position with Viktor Hovland and Keegan Bradley. And he sustained the position successfully. While this is already impressive, one should keep in mind that the tournament had allotted a starting score for the players. 

Of the 30 players who are still competing for the FedEx Cup, the top 25 received a score based on their position. This ranged from 1-under to 10-under. The bottom 5 started at an even par. In this context, Morikawa’s game needs to be analyzed beyond the surface numbers to understand how well he has been playing in the tournament. In fact, he has even outdone one of Tiger Woods’ all-time records.

The record-breaking play of Collin Morikawa

A 9-under in the first round was elegant by itself. But in combination with the 6-under in the second round, the score is now breathtaking. With 61 in round 1, and 64 in round 2, Morikawa’s total score at the end of round two is 125, or 15-under. This is, of course, not counting the allotted score. To put things in perspective, Morikawa actually is five strokes ahead of the next-best player of the tournament, Keegan Bradley. Bradley has scored 130 strokes.

Looking back at the records made in East Lake Golf Club for the lowest scores, the previous best was Tiger Woods’ 127 from the first two rounds of the Tour Championship, 2007. Besides Woods, only Xander Schauffele has scored less than 130 in the first two rounds of the Tour Championship over the past 22 years. Until now!

This is special because of the nature of the course they are playing in. The East Lake Golf Club is notorious for its harsh setbacks when a player fails to hit it to the fairways and greens consistently. And that’s why Morikawa’s ball striking needs more appreciation. 

In the two rounds, he had only missed the fairway six times, and the greens four times. This is the lowest among his competitors. The accuracy and precision he is showing in the field this week is inspiring. Morikawa himself acknowledged he felt his ball-striking prowess in its full glory again after a while.

Read more: From Course Records to Last Playing Captain at the Ryder Cup, Learn About the Top 7 Most Notable Moments of East Lake Golf Club

Here is a breakdown of his score in the Tour Championship so far.

How do you spell Bogey?

True, a bogey or two wouldn’t really bring down the magnanimity of his performance, but there aren’t any. Collin Morikawa has a clean slate in the Tour Championship so far. He has zero bogeys in the two rounds he has played. 

His scoreboard has birdies and pars alone, with a single eagle shining bright in the sixth hole of the first round. And that was not an easy hole. The tee shot could have easily landed on one of the bunkers close by the fairway, but it didn’t. 

On a side note, Morikawa has pledged $1000 to charity for every birdie he scores, in aid of the victims of the Maui wildfire. That makes the 15-under score (excluding the 1-under lead) even more special.

Do you think Morikawa will carry this remarkable form into the following rounds? Tell us in the comments! 

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