PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — This is the ultimate home game for Patrick Cantlay.
That’s why Cantlay, a Los Angeles native and graduate of nearby UCLA, loves Riviera Country Club so much that he’s taking command of the Genesis Invitational at the halfway point.
Cantlay shot a bogey-free 65 in Friday’s second round, following an opening-round 64 to build a five-shot lead through 36 holes and a total of 13 under heading into the weekend.
He is followed by Jason Day, Luke List and Mackenzie Hughes who are all at 8 under. Corey Connors is at 7 under, and Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris and Tom Hoge are at 6 under. Tony Finau and Hideki Matsuyama are 5 under.
Cantlay’s good form this week has been overshadowed by tournament host Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods is playing in his first full-field tournament since withdrawing from the 2023 Masters, where he withdrew midway through the round with flu symptoms.
Woods was carted off the course by rules officials after hitting his tee shot on the seventh hole after reporting a flu-like illness through his business partner and manager, Rob McNamara.
The only player who had as bad a day as Woods was Jordan Spieth, who finished at 3 under after a disappointing double bogey on the 18th hole, only to sign the wrong scorecard minutes later. He was disqualified. Spieth signed a 3 on the par-3 fourth hole when he actually made it a 4.
“Today I signed the wrong scorecard and walked out of the scoring area after I thought I had taken all the steps to make sure it was correct,” Spieth said on Twitter. ) posted. “Rules are rules, and I take full responsibility.”
But none of these other players’ problems mattered much to Cantlay, who looked like a player about to race a boat in the field. The fact that he estimates he played about 25 college games at this course certainly helps.
2 rounds.
“Yeah, it feels like a home game,” Cantlay said. “It feels good because it’s a golf course I’ve played many times. It’s a really comfortable golf course and in the best condition I’ve ever seen. It’s the best putting surface I’ve ever seen at this location. I like the greens to be really fast. They’re the fastest I’ve ever seen them, so I made a lot of them. No bogeys here is great.”
One of the day’s rewards came from Zalatoris. Zalatoris aced his par-3 14th hole, earning both himself and caddy Joel Stock his Genesis car.
“I just pulled it about 10 feet and it landed perfectly on the fringe and killed me,” Zalatoris said. “I was lucky to get in. It was a nice little bonus.”
Stock called Yard “the perfect number for 7.” [iron]just a little [wind] “It hurt,” he said, adding, “We were tracking the whole time. One of them was like we were going back and forth on the pin the whole time, and when the crowd went crazy, we went crazy too.” Did.”
Day sitting in second place is somewhat of a surprise considering he wasn’t a big Riviera fan, as he never played very well at Riviera until finishing in the top 10 last year.
“Early on, I hated this golf course,” Day said. “I think it’s only a little, but [better] Attitude definitely goes a long way. ”
Several players, including Cantlay and fellow L.A. native Max Homa, performed well in the second round after performing well in the opening round. Homa, who won the tournament in 2021, joked before the match, “It’s like a double defense, because I’m like the last champion who’s still here, and I’m happy about that.” Ta.
Joaquin Niemann won in 2022 and Jon Rahm won last year, but both players currently play at LIV Golf and are not eligible to play in PGA Tour events.
“This is one of my favorite places on earth and my favorite stop on the tour,” Homa said.
After going 2-over on Thursday, he played the same on Friday, posting a 6-under 65.
Cameron Young, the pride of Sleepy Hollow Country Club, followed up his first-round 1-over-par 72 with a 5-under-par 66 on Friday to reach 4-under par for the tournament. And Rory McIlroy continued his weekend with a 5-under 66 on Friday after shooting a 3-over 74 on Thursday.
But this weekend, he still hasn’t won a tournament in Cantlay’s hometown, 36 holes away.
“We’re going to try to get as much of a lead as we can,” Cantlay said. “[But] It’s already half over. Stay in the moment and trust my process. We have a good game plan for this golf course, so we just have to stick to it. ”
