Collin Morikawa Tied for 11th at Arnold Palmer Invitational After Solid First Round

ORLANDO, Fla. — Collin Morikawa kicked off the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational with a steady performance on Thursday, finishing the first round tied for 11th place at 1-under par 71.

Morikawa recorded birdies on the third, sixth, and seventh holes, but struggled with bogeys on the first and ninth at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge. He rounded out his back nine with pars, leaving him four strokes behind the first-round leader, Wyndham Clark.

“I felt good with my game today; it just didn’t show on the scoreboard as much as I hoped,” said Morikawa, the 28-year-old Cal graduate and current world No. 5. He shares 11th place with notable players including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, and Patrick Cantlay.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of the PGA Tour‘s most prestigious events, boasting a total purse of $20 million, with the winner taking home $4 million. Clark took the lead with an impressive 5-under 67, benefiting from birdies on the 13th, 16th, and 17th holes after overtaking Keegan Bradley, who finished the day tied for second place at 3-under 69.

Among the competitors, Michael Kim, who had been performing consistently with four consecutive top-15 finishes, found himself among the leaders early on. However, a double-bogey on the par-3 17th hole demoted him to a tie for 33rd, finishing the round at 3-over 75. Kim currently ranks No. 68 in the world and sits 16th in FedEx Cup standings.

Max Homa‘s struggles continued as he posted a 9-over 81, putting him at risk of missing the cut for a third consecutive tournament. Starting off with bogeys on the first four holes, Homa, who has not achieved a top-10 finish this season, will enter Friday’s play in 71st place, just one spot above last, and 13 shots off the lead.

“It’s frustrating, but I know I can turn it around,” Homa stated after his round, which included two birdies on holes nine and eleven but was marred by five more bogeys and a double-bogey on 17.

Trailing Homa is Cameron Young, who finished the day in last place with a 10-over 82, including multiple triple bogeys.

The action continues through the weekend, with all eyes on Clark as he aims to build upon his promising start.