It was a rainy Thursday in Los Angeles, but conditions were much improved for Friday’s marathon at Riviera Country Club. Thirty athletes were required to complete the first round of action, which began at 7 a.m., with the second round starting 40 minutes late to get back on schedule for the weekend.
Among the players who had to return early were Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler, who were among the dominant groups that week moving in different directions on the leaderboard. Early on Friday, Schauffele went on the offensive and shot a 3-under 68 in calm, soft conditions. After a short turn of 38 minutes from the end of the first round to the start of the second round, he bounced back in the afternoon with a 6-under 65, and entered the weekend with a top-five finish of 9 under.
Scheffler, on the other hand, was 5 over in his first 10 holes on Thursday and was trying to climb out of a hole he created for himself. He finished the first round with two of his shots in the morning, but needed a strong close Friday afternoon to advance. Genesis allows players outside the top 50, ties, and players within 10 strokes of the lead to compete, even in marquee events. Scheffler reached even par this week with a birdie on the par-5 17th, but needed a 6-footer to save par on the 18th to finish the weekend in the top 50.
This extended his tour-best record streak to 68 consecutive events, but required far more effort than he would have liked with limited field events.
Scheffler and Schauffele had to play 26 holes on Friday, but Rory McIlroy was able to perform as usual after posting a 5-under 66 in difficult conditions on Thursday. He improved himself by one on Friday, shooting a 6-under 65 and staying one stroke behind the leader heading into the weekend.
McIlroy’s improved ball-strike last year was evident in the first two rounds, ranking him third in the world in strokes gained on approaches. His ability to fly and control his trajectory was crucial in the first round in difficult conditions, and he was able to come back strong as the wind picked up Friday afternoon.
What’s most impressive about McIlroy is his consistency, especially after a tumultuous week at Pebble Beach where he made a ton of birdies but also hit a lot of double bogeys (or more).
“As I said earlier in the week, there’s no Pacific Ocean around this golf course to hit into, so that helps,” McIlroy said after the second round. “Even if I hit a wild tee shot on the 15th (with 40 yards left in the fairway), I’m fine. It’s a different type of golf this week and a different setup. I’m still hitting some loose shots, but I’m getting a little more comfortable with the course setup. But I hit it well, controlled my distance well for the most part, and holed some nice putts from inside 8 feet.” ”
It’s not bad to be able to hit the ball 333 yards from the tee. Also, it’s not bad to be fourth in terms of strokes gained in putts in the second round.
McIlroy has made his career priorities clear at this point, so a win at an iconic venue like Riviera Country Club, a win in a Tiger Woods tournament, is sure to carry even more weight for the future Hall of Famer. McIlroy said last year how much it meant to win at a course like Pebble Beach, and adding another legendary course in California a year later would be a strong addition to his resume.
McIlroy had a strong run in the first two rounds and moved into sole third place at 11 under par, just one shot behind the remarkable tandem of Jacob Bridgman and Marco Penge at the top of the leaderboard.
leaders
1. Marco Penzi, Jacob Bridgman (-12)
Penge, alias Rory McIlroy, was last year’s DP World Tour’s Most Valuable Player and is putting his talents on full display at Riviera after a rough start to his PGA Tour career with two missed cuts and a T64 finish last week. Penge is an exceptionally long hitter, leading this week in strokes gained off the tee, but he’s also hot with the putter, and his swing speed gives him impressive touch with the irons for a player. He won the DP World Tour multiple times a year ago, but now he will have to face different tensions in the final group on the big event weekend.
Joining him is Jacob Bridgman, who has quietly made a habit of strong finishes on the PGA Tour. Bridgeman has four top-20 finishes to start the 2026 season and is coming off a 2025 season in which he won his first Tour Championship thanks to two top-20 finishes in the first two playoff events. Bridgman’s calling card is his putter, and he will start this week lapping the field on the green with 7.4 strokes gained in putts. The question for Bridgeman will be whether his long game can hold up over the weekend and create enough scoring opportunities — as he was unable to score over the weekend in a similar position last week at Pebble Beach.
other candidates
3. Rory McIlroy (-11)
T4. Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott (-9)
T6. Max Glaserman, Minwoo Lee (-8)
T8. Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Windham Clark, Kurt Kitayama (-7)
T12. Max Homa and 3 others (-6)
T15. Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, and 2 others (-5)
On Saturday, McIlroy and Schauffele will be firmly behind Penge and Bridgman as they try to hold on for their first PGA Tour victory, but it will be an important test of mettle for them.
After an incredibly erratic week of play at Pebble Beach, McIlroy seemed to have much better control of the golf ball at Riviera, and his ball-striking was reminiscent of last year’s win at Pebble. Schauffele, on the other hand, seems to be gaining more confidence in his game by the day and looked very comfortable forming shots and playing aggressively in the soft conditions presented on Friday. When he plays with that confidence, he is very dangerous and wants to get back into the winner’s circle for the first time since 2024.
Scott finished the day with an eight-under 63, including a closing bogey, but the Riviera winner must be considered a threat come the weekend to become the second 45-year-old to win on the PGA Tour this season.
Furthermore, lurking in the back are several players who have achieved good results for the start of 2026. Tommy Fleetwood continued to rack up rounds in the 60s, scoring a 66 on Friday to move into the top 10. Min Woo Lee came within one stroke of the playoffs last week and is carrying that positive momentum into his play this week. Matt Fitzpatrick has been sniffing around the leaderboards since Phoenix and will be heading into the weekend in contention once again.
And Max Homa, Jordan Spieth and last week’s winner Collin Morikawa are back at 5 under. Homa is an experienced winner here and will be eager to do well on a course where he has performed well. Spieth continues to show signs of strength, especially with his putter, giving him optimism that a breakout win may be on the horizon. Morikawa just ended his winning streak at Pebble Beach and is playing solid golf again, but it will take another Super Saturday like the one a week ago for him (and Spieth) to be in contention.
Notable players who missed out
- Sam Barnes (+1)
- Maverick McNeely (+1)
- Russell Henry (+2)
- Chris Gotterup (+3)
- Justin Rose (+3)
- Keegan Bradley (+3)
- Jason Day (+5)
Two of this season’s five PGA Tour winners will miss the weekend at Riviera as Gotterup and Rose struggled in LA It would also be surprising to see Henry, McNeely and Burns slow down and miss the cut after starting the year strong.
2026 Genesis Invitational odds and nominations updated
- Rory McIlroy (+185)
- Jacob Bridgman (+380)
- Marco Money (5-1)
- Xander Schauffele (15/2)
- Adam Scott (13-1)
- Tommy Fleetwood (17-1)
- Lee Min Woo (20-1)
The way McIlroy hits his irons and the expectation that the course gets a little harder as the week progresses makes him a legitimate favorite here, and I don’t think his chances worsen after Saturday’s third round. I think Schauffele’s batting style also has some value at 15/2, and Lee’s confidence now in a group a little further back means he’s a threat to move down to a low level and be in serious contention on Sunday.
