Collin Morikawa rebounds at U.S. Open despite ‘uncomfortable’ back injury

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Collin Morikawa is contending again at a major championship, even if he’s still short of a clean bill of health.

Morikawa was heading in the wrong direction after the opening round of the U.S. Open, as a 3-over 73 left him nine shots off the pace set by Wyndham Clark at Shinnecock Hills. But the two-time major champ got back into the mix in a big way during a second-round 65 that featured seven birdies on one of the most difficult venues the USGA has to offer.

Morikawa made the turn in 3-under 32 before adding three more birdies on the back nine, and at 2-under he’ll head into the weekend five shots behind Clark as he chases what would be the third leg of the career Grand Slam after his wins at the 2020 PGA Championship and The Open Championship in 2021.

The key to the turnaround, he explained, came around the greens.

“I chipped it a lot better than I did yesterday,” Morikawa said. “I mean, I went through my round yesterday, I had at least four, probably five, maybe six up-and-downs, pretty basic up-and-downs, that I just flubbed. That’s the difference of kicking yourself out of a tournament and keeping yourself in it.”

This was Morikawa’s fifth career round of 65 or better in a major, behind only Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau for the most such rounds since 2020. He was alone in fourth place when signing his scorecard, and should he go on to win, he would match Jack Fleck in 1955 for the largest opening-round deficit eventually overcome by a U.S. Open champion.

Morikawa got his 2026 PGA TOUR season off to a strong start with a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, but things went awry at THE PLAYERS Championship, where he withdrew after just a single hole because of a back injury. While he has contended in tournaments since, including a T7 finish at the Masters and a T4 result at the RBC Heritage, he has struggled to swing at full speed for fear of re-aggravating the injury.

Morikawa skipped the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday earlier this month as he and his wife, Kat, welcomed the birth of their first child. He returned to action last week at the RBC Canadian Open, finishing T29, but even after posting the second-lowest round of the week at Shinnecock Hills, he explained that he remains without a full arsenal of weapons as he continues to recuperate from the back injury that first cropped up in mid-March.

“It’s still a little uncomfortable,” Morikawa said. “I can’t hit every shot that I want to hit. Usually, my go-to shot with right-to-left wind with an iron would be to cut something up, know how it’s going to spin, and just play that shot. I can’t quite cut it as much as I want.

“Thankfully, the greens are soft enough right now where I don’t have to hit the high spinner, but I’m able to hit enough shots. I think I proved it to myself today that I have enough tools to go out and play well.”