LIHUE, Hawaii – Cal and standout sophomore Collin Morikawa were both as good as anybody else Thursday during second-round action of the John A. Burns Intercollegiate being hosted by Hawai'i at the par-72, 6,991-yard Wailua Golf Course. Morikawa (71-66 – 137, -7) was one of four players to fire a six-under 66 while the seven-under team score of 281 posted by Cal (291-281 – 572, -4) was equaled only by second-place Texas A&M (276-281 – 557, -19) and moved the Golden Bears up three spots into sixth place.

Morikawa moved up 11 spots into a tie for third heading into Friday's third and final round and will start the final 18 holes four strokes behind second-round leader Chandler Phillips (67-66 – 133, -11) of Texas A&M. Morikawa, the Pac-12's Freshman of the Year in 2015-16, has 10 top-10 finishes in his first 18 events at Cal but is still looking for his first collegiate victory.

"It was great to see us playing well and tying the low round of the day," Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Walter Chun said. "The players deserve all the credit. They started the day slow with lots of pars, but they really stayed patient and their patience paid off. We've been a young, inexperienced team all season long, but today the guys played like veterans, staying patient and trusting their games and abilities."

Morikawa's sixth sub-70 round of the season and his first in five rounds this spring was keyed by a stretch of five consecutive birdies spanning the end of his first nine holes and the start of his second nine. He started his shotgun round with a birdie on the par-three seventh and added two more in back-to-back fashion on the par-four 12th and par-five 13th. The birdie streak began on the par-four 16th and was highlighted by a 30-foot putt on the par-four 18th and 175-foot seven-iron to within six feet on the par-four second to cap the run. Morikawa reached eight-under for the round before giving two strokes back with bogeys on two of his final four holes."

"It was a great feeling today to get some momentum and roll in some birdies," Morikawa said. "Everything was pretty solid today and I was able to capitalize on some good shots when I needed to. The five birdies in a row was a great swing in the middle of my round. Overall, it was a great round. I'll use the positives today for tomorrow."

"Collin played exceptionally well," Chun said. "I wasn't aware he made five straight birdies until after the fact, and that's Collin. He's as cool as a cucumber and is so professional all the time. He goes about his business and doesn't gleam with excitement. If that were me, I'd be smiling from cheek to cheek, but perhaps that's why Collin is Collin. He has a professional nature to him and is business-like."

Tanner Hughes (T27th, 73-71 – 144, E) is the next Cal player on the leaderboard, while Sean Yu (T54th, 70-77 – 147, +3), Walker Huddy (T68th, 79-70 – 149, +5) and William Aldred (T78th, 77-74 – 151, +7) are also participating for the Golden Bears. Huddy made the biggest jump on the today up 30 spots, while Hughes moved up 13.

Huddy birdied four of his final 11 holes while Hughes had the Bears' lone eagle of the round on the par-five 13th when he chipped in from about 25 feet.

Clayton Madey (70-71 – 141, -3) is playing the event as an individual and in a tie for 14th.

The 54-hole event concludes with third-round action Friday with a shotgun start scheduled for 10:30 am PT/8:30 am HT.

"Like all final rounds, it will be a big one for us and all the other teams," Chun said. "I'm hopeful we learned some lessons from the final round of the Arizona Intercollegiate to prepare for tomorrow. These are resilient young men and know they still have work to do tomorrow. As long as they stay patient like today, we'll be fine tomorrow."
 
JOHN A. BURNS INTERCOLLEGIATE (HOSTED BY HAWAI'I)
LIHUE, HI
WAILUA GOLF COURSE (PAR 72, 6991 YARDS)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. Virginia (268-283 – 551, -25)
2. Texas A&M (276-281 – 557, -19)
3. UNLV (282-284 – 566, -10)
T4. BYU (284-286 – 570, -6)
T4. Santa Clara (287-283 – 570, -6)
6. Cal (291-281 – 572, -4)
7. Grand Canyon (291-285 – 576, E)
T8. Arizona (290-287 – 577, +1)
T8. New Mexico (295-282 – 577, +1)
T10. UTEP (290-290 – 580, +4)
T10. Washington (294-286 – 580, +4)
12. Kennesaw State (289-293 – 582, +6)
13. North Dakota State (299-285 – 584, +8)
14. Utah (301-286 – 587, +11)
15. Washington State (302-293 – 595, +19)
16. Hawai'i (298-301 – 599, +23)
17. Northern Colorado (304-300 – 604, +28)
18. Hawai'i Hilo (316-303 – 619, +43)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. Chandler Phillips – Texas A&M (67-66 – 133, -11)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
T3. Collin Morikawa (71-66 – 137, -7)
^T14. Clayton Madey (70-71 – 141, -3)
T27. Tanner Hughes (73-71 – 144, E)
T54. Sean Yu (70-77 – 147, +3)
T68. Walker Huddy (79-70 – 149, +5)
T78. William Aldred (77-74 – 151, +7)
^playing as an individual