Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa cautiously in contention at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

DETROIT -- Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler will be the first to tell you they are only halfway there. Two of the most prominent stars in golf have put themselves in contention through two rounds at the Rocket Mortgage, hardly a new feeling for either. Winning, though? They are a bit coy to talk about that possibility just yet.

“I know we're capable of doing that,” said Fowler, whose last win came at the 2019 Waste Management Open. “Just can't press on that too much, just continue to execute and play some solid golf.”

“This is when work really starts, said Morikawa, “make the weekend, you're in contention and we just want to post two really low numbers this weekend.” He’s looking for his first win since the 2021 Open Championship.

Forgive them both for failing to get too far ahead of themselves. They have certainly been on the losing end of contention more times than they have won. Both have felt that sinking feeling in the last few weeks, even.

Fowler led the U.S. Open after each of the first three rounds but fell back to T5 after a final-round 75. He was close last week at the Travelers Championship, too, but was ultimately too far away from Keegan Bradley. Meanwhile Morikawa felt he had a chance to after three rounds at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday but withdrew because of a back injury before the final round. He was T4 through two rounds at the Masters, T3 at the same point of THE PLAYERS Championship and led the Sentry Tournament of Champions every day before losing to Jon Rahm in the final round.

So for now they would prefer to talk about the golf that has already been played. Fair enough. It’s been plenty good, Fowler at 12 under; Morikawa at 11 under. Taylor Moore and Taylor Pendrith share the lead at 13 under.

It was Fowler who had the better Friday, carding a second-round 65 behind six birdies, a bogey and a chip-in eagle on the par-5 17th that leapfrogged him ahead of Morikawa on the leaderboard and into the penultimate pairing with Ludvig Aberg, also 12 under. They tee off at 1:50 p.m. local time.

Fowler relied on his ball striking to get around Detroit Golf Club, hitting 15 greens and converting on four birdie putts of less than three feet.

“That always makes things a little easier,” said Fowler, who, to his credit, also made a 49-foot bomb for birdie on the par-4 12th.

Morikawa’s round of 65 came Thursday, and he followed it with a second-round 67. His card included four birdies, a bogey and an eagle on the par-4 15th after he stuck his 242-yard approach to just under three feet. It comes as no surprise that Morikawa also feasted with his ball striking. Currently No. 2 in Strokes Gained: Approach this season, he was second in the same category during the second round. He tees off at 1:30 p.m. local time on Saturday alongside Aaron Rai.

Morikawa’s focus all week: do not miss left. A persistent fader of the golf ball, double-crossing himself has been a flaw of late and rattled his confidence. It has not popped up for two days.

“Figured it out Wednesday, it's worked the past couple days,” he said.

What exactly did he find?

“I'm still not going to tell you." Then he relented a bit. “If I finish on top, I'll tell you on Sunday, that's a fair answer.”

Safe to say Morikawa and Fowler both will have a lot to say if they end up the winner at the end of this week. Don't expect to get much from them until it happens, though. There will be no jumping to conclusions. They have been here once or twice before.