Collin Morikawa and Max Homa during the second round of the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans in Avondale, Louisiana. (Photo: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports)
They had Los Angeles Dodgers jerseys emblazoned with their nickname HomaKawa on the back of it. What the former Cal Bears didn’t have was enough birdies through 36 holes.
Homa, No. 7 in the world, and Morikawa, No. 13, only managed to shoot 8-under 136 and were the biggest duo in the field to get the weekend off.
Morikawa, who is a Zurich ambassador and has played the team event three years in a row with three different partners, has missed the cut twice and finished T-29 last year with Viktor Hovland.
The Pete Dye-designed TPC Louisiana is a ballstriker’s paradise and would seem ideal for their game but they made two bogeys in best-ball Thursday and shot 66 and made par on their final eight holes when they knew birdies were mandatory. A 2-under 70 just didn’t cut it.
“It’s tough. This is a format where you have to make a lot of birdies and we just didn’t make putts,” Morikawa said. “We’re probably half-way through our season and it’s go-time. I want to get back out there and win. It’s just motivation, really, to get ready and play some good golf.”
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