Collin Morikawa takes momentum into the weekend at the BMW Championships, second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
The 29-year Cal graduate fired a 5-under 65 on Friday — matching his best round in seven tries at the BMW event — and climbed 13 spots to a tie for eighth place at the midway point of the $20 million tournament.
Morikawa, who carded a 65 in the third round of the 2022 BMW, is five strokes back of second-round leader Wyndham Clark. Clark shot a 64 for the second day in a row for a 36-hole score of 12 under par.
Morikawa has never finished higher than a tie for 25th at the BMW, but he finished off Friday with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. He had six birdies on he day against a single bogey, on No. 10.
Ranked No. 9 in the FedEx Cup rankings before this week’s event got started, Morikawa is almost mathematically assured of being in the top 30 in the standings on Sunday night. That selected group will earn berths at the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta, where golfers will chase a share of he $40 million purse, including a $20 million first prize.
The top 50 players on the FedEx Cup standings after last week’s St. Jude Classic advanced to St. Louis this week. The field will be pared by 20 after four days at Bellervive Country Club.
While the BMW Championship has been a challenge for Morikawa, he has competed well at the Tour Championship. Has three top-six finishes at Atlanta, including a runner-up performance in 2024, when he shot 26 under par but lost by four strokes to Scottie Scheffler.
Second-round leader Clark, who was No. 5 in the FedEx Cup standings to start the week, has carded 12 birdies without a bogey in two rounds to seize the lead.
He is one stroke ahead of first-round co-leader Gary Woodland, who began the week on the fence at No. 31 in the standings. Woodland, 42, has become a sentimental choice with some dans after he battled back following surgery in 2023 to remove a non-cancerous tumor in his brain.
J.J. Spaun made birdies on five of his first eight holes and sits in third place at minus-10, two strokes off the lead.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, a first-round co-leader, shot a 69 and is tied with Morikawa and two others for seventh place.
Scottie Scheffler, No. 1 in both the world rankings and FedEx Cup standings, was tied for 44th place after Thursday. He jumped 20 spots to a tie for 24th place at minus-3 after a second-round 65.
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