LA Jolla, CA – The first round of Thursday's Genesis invitation was temperatures, persistent drizzle and chilly evil breezes from the south. Players had no choice but to tie them up, wearing clothes that they might wear on the ski mountains, not the Tory Pines South.
Patrick Rogers went through several handwarmers wearing big cart mittens between shots. Irish Seamus Power wore an extra layer, and Tom Kim used a hand pouch while warming up in driving range. Buffalo Bills January game.
Denny McCarthy, who led at 4 under, also got warmed with his hands in his back pocket and wore a full layer.
But that didn't stop him from producing one of the shots of the day. On the par 5 18th, he left 267 yards for his second shot. McCarthy had five wood in his hand, but decided to club up and hit a three wood. This decision paid off as he thrusts it into seven feet and transforms Eagle's attempts.
“I'm a fierce competitor, so I thought it would be a challenge today,” McCarthy said.
“I came out with the attitude of just having fun and trying to accept it as much as I could.”
Everyone on the field put out their umbrellas and wore rain gear to keep them dry. Also, each player looked through multiple gloves and did their best to keep their hands, drying their grips. All of this makes life extremely difficult for caddies.
“I want to be a player more than a caddy,” Rodgers joked after posting a 3-under 69 on Thursday.
“The night before, you look at the predictions and know that it's really difficult. Once you're out, you feel like you have to go through one shot at a time, but that's kind of rough It's not easy to know that you have to use 18 holes in length, the difficult nature of knowing that you have to use golf courses and predicted weather.”
The South Course at Torrey Pines features covered ryegrass, which we are thickly open. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Wyndham Clark, and all players, struggled to advance over 150 yards on some occasions, and removed the rough hack. The breeze bubbling makes us find a fairway – a need for this course – became extremely challenging. It's no wonder that only 14 of the 72 players on the field this week posted par-under scores.
“To be honest, I know that on a golf course like this is hard,” Power said.
“You just know what's coming, there's no real letup. You have to hit some good shots. That's the beauty of this golf course. It's your eyes Before, you need to hit a bunch of good shots in a row, and that's what I'm going to test every part of your game.”
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer who plays SB Nation. Follow him with x @jack_milko.
