ATLANTA — When Collin Morikawa heard his name called on the first tee on Friday, he faced a seven-shot deficit to World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who blistered the newly restored East Lake the day before.
Morikawa knew he had to play aggressively to give himself a chance, as Scheffler would no doubt continue to waltz around the property. He’s too good of a player not to. But the California kid also knew he had to stick to his game plan while not focusing on Scheffler’s massive lead.
Mission accomplished.
Morikawa fired a masterful 8-under 63, the lowest round of the week thus far at the Tour Championship. He looked in control of his game, especially off the tee, even though Scheffler bombed it way past him more often than not. Like the deficit he faced, the difference in driving distance between Friday’s final pairing did not phase Morikawa either.
“He’s such a good player that you know he’s going to keep going low and making birdies,” Morikawa said of his playing partner.
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“I saw that firsthand. I’ve seen it for years. For me, it’s just have to keep my foot on the gas and stick to my game plan.”
Morikawa made nine birdies on Friday, two more than any other player. But he did make a bogey on the par-3 11th, a hole in which the tour moved the tees up because of the firmness of the greens. It played only 174 yards, a short-iron for most players, yet Morikawa airmailed the green and failed to get up and down.
“Just not a great bogey,” Morikawa said.
“Especially after I felt pretty good through the round.”
He had every reason to do so.
Morikawa carded a 4-under 31 on the front nine, highlighted by a spectacular approach on the par-4 7th. After Scheffler bombed it 43 yards past him, Morikawa knocked his second shot to three feet, five inches, and made his birdie try. That was his second of three straight par-breakers.
More birdies followed on the back nine after his misstep at 11.
At the par-4 13th, Morikawa chipped in for birdie while Scheffler failed to get up and down from a fried egg lie in the sand. A two-shot swing suddenly made things a little more interesting as Scheffler’s lead went from seven to five.
It then dwindled to four on the next hole, the par-5 14th. Morikawa made birdie, but Scheffler failed to convert his opportunity. He settled for a par, as Morikawa walked to the 15th tee at 15-under.
Then, a lightning delay suspended play for 90 minutes.
“Honestly, the last three holes coming out, sometimes after a break like that, you don’t lose rhythm, but you just lose kind of that energy,” Morikawa said.
Despite that, Morikawa maintained his focus, even though Scheffler came out and fired right at the flagstick on the par-4 16th. His birdie there extended his lead back to five. But Morikawa knew he had to press on. He closed with a pair of birdies on 17 and 18 to cut the deficit back to four—Scheffler also birdied the par-5 18th.
“Just stuck to my game plan,” Morikawa emphasized.
“Honestly, I just kept hitting my shots and made a bunch of putts today, which was nice.”
That he did.
And now, Morikawa has an outside chance of winning the FedEx Cup. He may still face a sizable deficit at this juncture, but he almost cut it in half on Friday, an impressive accomplishment considering the tall task at hand. If he can continue to stick to his game plan and hole some putts, Morikawa may chase Scheffler down after all.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
