CROMWELL — Nobody ever knows, when it will come or where it goes, but when the feeling hits , a golfer’s got to latch on to it. Collin Morikawa rolled in a 13 1/2-foot putt for birdie on the first hole Friday and it was on. Six birdies on the front nine, a ridiculous 29.
Then as the heat of the day set in and Morikawa’s surge slowed, one birdie on the back nine. The game’s unpredictable quality has played out in his first two rounds at the Travelers Championship ; on Thursday, he got off to a slow start, then scorched the back nine. “Sometimes it’s a feel, trusting your gut,” Morikawa said.
“It’s just a little ...
belief. It’s hard to have it every day. Today was one of those days, going to try to keep it the next two.
” The solid second-round 63 Friday lifted Morikawa, who arrived in Connecticut this week with the news he’d made the U.S. Olympic team, into contention within 2 strokes of leader Tom Kim, who had a similar day, five birdies on the front nine, one on the back.
“Right now it’s just all mental,” Morikawa said. “I can’t get lazy the next two days, the scores are going to keep getting lower, probably going to double from where we are right now, and the biggest thing for me if I want to stay in contention is just not letting my mind kind of wander. It’s been a long stretch, it’s hot, but I want to win and I’m going to stay as sharp as possible.
” With his two major championships within two years of joining the PGA Tour, it’s .
