11.15 – 10 July 2020
The second round of the Austrian Open it’s well underway but updates are only every three holes and it’s a frustrating tournament to follow. The pre-event favorite, Joost Luiten, who led after the first round, was still showing the way early today and having been a fantasy man [8.4] possibility before the start, him already combined with a minimum of [2.38]. He was two off the pitch after playing his first six holes, but a triple bogey seven in the seventh saw him fall in a tie for the fourth.
I will leave the event alone for now and take a look halfway through again, but I had a small bet in the states …
Collin Morikawa has pretty much everything but a consistently good putter and when he started yesterday’s opening round at Workday Charity Open missing the eight, 12 and 11 foot birdies in its first three holes, it seemed that we could be in another typical Morikawa performance.
The 23-year-old Californian is so consistent, that his last missed cut to the travelers’ championship was his first free weekend in 23 starts on the PGA Tour. It looks like the best of this current crop of young people and when the putts start falling, it’s hard to beat.
Morikawa’s irons were so well composed yesterday that only one of his bird shots came from outside 12 feet and his lap was serious when he made a three to fifth eagle from just three feet! His opening at seven sub-pars was despite a bogey in his last hole and he is clearly kind-hearted but it seems rather low [6.0] given that only three first-round leaders have won the prize at Muirfield Village and no first-round leaders alone have won in the past 25 years.
Those stats are against him but the draw isn’t. Morikawa leaves at 12:23 in the UK and with bad weather forecast for the end of the day, if he can enter and publish a decent score again, he will not be disturbed by having to finish the second round tomorrow.
The only other player in the top six and within two of Morikawa’s lead making his way in the morning wave is Aaron Wise. He hasn’t been in great shape since the reboot and has lost the cut here in his previous two releases, but it seems worth trying [50.0] this morning.
As highlighted in preview, there seems to be a strong correlation with Firestone and Wise finished sixth there in his only start to the course in 2018. I am not convinced that the talented 24 year old should be eight times the price of Morikawa since he is already a winner of the PGA Tour, after having won the Byron Nelson two years ago in an impressive style.
Austrian open pre-event selections:
Will Besseling @ [75.0]
Joel Stalter @ [300.0]
Business Day Open Charity Pre-Event Selections:
Bubba Watson @ [140.0]
Ryan Armor @ [160.0]
Mackenzie Hughes @ [230.0]
Brendan Steele @ [320.0]
Harry Higgs @ [570.0]
Choice in game:
Aaron Wise @ [50.0]
* You can follow me on Twitter @SteveThePunter
