A rain-soaked Thursday in Los Angeles gave way to much improved conditions on a marathon Friday at Riviera Country Club. Thirty players had to complete their first round action starting at 7 a.m., while the second round got going 40 minutes later in an effort to get back on schedule going into the weekend.
Among those who had to come back early were Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler, who were moving in different directions on the leaderboard in one of the week’s marquee groups. In calm, soft conditions early on Friday, Schauffele came out attacking to post a 3-under 68. After a short 38-minute turnaround from ending Round 1 to starting Round 2, he backed it up in the afternoon with a 6-under 65 to get into the top 5 at 9 under heading into the weekend.
Scheffler, meanwhile, was trying to dig himself out of a hole he created for himself on Thursday when he went 5 over in his first 10 holes. He got two of those shots back in the morning to wrap up his first round, but needed a strong close on Friday afternoon just to make the cut. Even as a signature event, the Genesis has a cut for those outside the top-50 and ties — and those within 10 shots of the lead. Scheffler birdied the par-5 17th to get to even par for the week, and then needed a 6-footer to save par on No. 18 just to make the weekend inside that top 50.
That extended his Tour-best made cut streak to 68 consecutive events, but required far more of a grind than he’d like in a limited field event.
While Scheffler and Schauffele had to play 26 holes on Friday, Rory McIlroy was able to enjoy a normal turnaround after a strong 5-under 66 on Thursday in tough conditions. He did himself one better on Friday with a 6-under 65 to keep himself one shot off the lead heading into the weekend.
McIlroy’s improved ball-striking over the last year has been on display over the first two rounds, as he’s third in the field in strokes gained on approach. His ability to flight shots and play with trajectories was critical in his first round in difficult conditions, and also allowed him to come home strong as winds picked up on Friday afternoon.
What’s been most impressive from McIlroy has been the consistency, especially after a wild week at Pebble Beach that saw him make a ton of birdies but also a lot of double bogeys (or worse).
“I reported this at the start of the week, there’s no Pacific Ocean to hit it into around this golf course, so that helps,” McIlroy reported after his second round. “Even like I hit a wild tee shot on [No.] 15, 40 yards left of the fairway, but it’s OK. It’s a different type of golf this week, different setup. I still hit some loose shots, but the course setup is in a way that you can get away with it a little bit more. But I’ve hit it well, I’ve controlled my distance well for the most part, and I’ve holed some nice putts from sort of inside eight feet for pars when I’ve needed to.”
Being able to bomb it 333 yards off the tee also doesn’t hurt — nor does being fourth in strokes gained putting through two rounds.
As McIlroy has made his priorities known for his career at this point, a win at an iconic venue like Riviera Country Club — in Tiger Woods’ event, no less — would undoubtedly carry some added weight for the future Hall of Famer. McIlroy noted last year how meaningful it was to win at a course like Pebble Beach, and adding another of California’s legendary courses a year later would be a strong addition to his résumé.
McIlroy’s strong efforts in the first two rounds put him in solo third at 11 under, just one shot back of the surprising tandem of Jacob Bridgeman and Marco Penge at the top of the leaderboard.
The leaders
1. Marco Penge, Jacob Bridgeman (-12)
Penge was the best player on the DP World Tour last year not named Rory McIlroy, and after a tough start to his PGA Tour career with two missed cuts and a T64 last week, he’s showing his full talents at Riviera. Penge is an exceptionally long hitter and leads the field in strokes gained off the tee this week, but he’s been red-hot with the putter as well and has shown impressive touch with the irons for a player with his swing speeds. He won multiple times a year ago on the DP World Tour, but will now have to deal with some different nerves in the final group on the weekend of a signature event.
Joining him will be Jacob Bridgeman, who has quietly made strong finishes on the PGA Tour a habit. Bridgeman has four top-20s to start his 2026 season and is coming off a 2025 season where he made the Tour Championship for the first time — thanks to a pair of top-20s in the first two Playoff events. Bridgeman’s calling card is his putter, and he’s lapping the field on the greens to start this week with 7.4 strokes gained putting. The question for Bridgeman will be if his long game can hold up on the weekend and create enough opportunities to score — as he couldn’t quite keep up with the weekend scoring last week at Pebble Beach in a similar position.
Other contenders
3. Rory McIlroy (-11)
T4. Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott (-9)
T6. Max Greyserman, Min Woo Lee (-8)
T8. Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Kurt Kitayama (-7)
T12. Max Homa and three others (-6)
T15. Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa and two others (-5)
McIlroy and Schauffele will be tight in the rear view of Penge and Bridgeman on Saturday as they try to stay in position for their first PGA Tour victories, and that’ll provide a significant test for their nerve.
After an incredibly uneven week of play at Pebble Beach, McIlroy looks much more in control of his golf ball at Riviera — with ball-striking reminiscent of what he used to win last year at Pebble. Schauffele, meanwhile, looks to be gaining confidence in his game by the day, and appeared quite comfortable shaping shots and playing aggressive in the soft conditions presented on Friday. When he’s playing with that confidence, he’s extremely dangerous and is looking to get back in the winner’s circle for the first time since 2024.
Scott put together the round of the day with an 8-under 63 — which included a closing bogey — but as a former winner at Riviera, he has to be considered a threat on the weekend to become the second 45-year-old winner on the PGA Tour this season.
Lurking further back in the pack are some others who have performed well to start 2026. Tommy Fleetwood continues to stack rounds in the 60s and moved into the top 10 with a 66 on Friday. Min Woo Lee came one shot away from a playoff last week and is carrying that positive momentum into his play this week. Matt Fitzpatrick has been sniffing around leaderboards since Phoenix and is once again heading into the weekend in contention.
Then there’s Max Homa, Jordan Spieth and last week’s winner Collin Morikawa back at 5 under. Homa is a former winner here and is desperate for a strong finish on a course where he’s performed well. Spieth continues to show signs of positive form, particularly with the putter, which provides optimism a breakout win could be coming. Morikawa, fresh off snapping his own winless streak at Pebble Beach, is playing solid golf again, but he (and Spieth) will need another super Saturday like he had a week ago if he’s going to get in contention.
Notable players to miss the cut
- Sam Burns (+1)
- Maverick McNealy (+1)
- Russell Henley (+2)
- Chris Gotterup (+3)
- Justin Rose (+3)
- Keegan Bradley (+3)
- Jason Day (+5)
Two of the five winners on the PGA Tour this season will miss the weekend at Riviera, as Gotterup and Rose struggled in L.A. It’s also surprising to see Henley, McNealy and Burns fall off the pace and miss the cut after they’ve shown strong form to start the year as well.
Updated 2026 Genesis Invitational odds, picks
- Rory McIlroy (+185)
- Jacob Bridgeman (+380)
- Marco Penge (5-1)
- Xander Schauffele (15/2)
- Adam Scott (13-1)
- Tommy Fleetwood (17-1)
- Min Woo Lee (20-1)
The way McIlroy is hitting his irons and with the expectation that the course firms up some as the week goes on, he is the rightful favorite here and I don’t think his odds will get worse after Saturday’s third round. I do think Schauffele presents some value at 15/2 with the way he’s striking it as well, and of the group a bit further back, Lee’s confidence right now means he’s a threat to go low and get himself in real contention on Sunday.
