Detroit News wire services
Four-time Cup champ McCarty, five-time major champ Koepka were Pro-Am partners Thursday.
Four-time Cup champ McCarty, five-time major champ Koepka were Pro-Am partners Thursday.
Pacific Palisades, Calif. – England’s Marco Penge turned a busy day into a share of the lead at the midway point of the Genesis Invitational on Friday by reaching 12-under par at Riviera Country Club.
Forced to play 27 holes after he resumed his first round early Friday morning, Penge shot 9 under on the day and delivered a 7-under 64 during his second round to join Jacob Bridgeman (64) atop the leaderboard.
Genesis Invitational scoreboard
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (65) was alone in third place at 11 under, while Australia’s Adam Scott (63) and Xander Schauffele (65) were tied for fourth at 9 under. Scott needed a birdie at the par-4 closing hole to tie the course record of 61 but finished with a bogey.
A total of 30 players still needed to complete their first round Friday morning. They were on the course during the first round Thursday when play was halted because of darkness following a three-hour rain delay.
While Bridgeman finished his first round Friday, Penge’s full 27-hold day included 11 birdies and two bogeys. Bridgeman started his second round with an eagle 3 at the first hole, then finished with three consecutive birdies to catch Penge.
“I putted it really well and I hit my driver great,” said Bridgeman, a South Carolina native who is holding his own on West Coast Poa annua greens. “The driver was a struggle the last couple weeks. So I drove it nicely, and then the putter worked out for me.”
After winning three times on the DP World Tour last season, Penge is playing his fourth event on the PGA Tour this season and has made the cut in consecutive signature events. He can note one major difference when it comes to playing in the United States.
“Going for lunch on Tuesday and standing in the queue behind Tiger Woods is pretty cool,” Penge said of the tournament host and 15-time major winner. “You know, (it’s) just being in the presence of players that I have so much respect for, players that I’ve watched growing up, players I idolize.”
McIlroy had three birdies on his front nine Friday before an eagle 3 at No. 11 and a birdie at 17 to finish one shot off the pace. Scott had a pair of eagles at Nos. 1 and 11. He was 5 under on a five-hole stretch from Nos. 9-13.
“I’ve been feeling like I’ve had a lot of good golf since last summer and got absolutely no results thanks to average putting,” said Scott, who won at Riviera in 2020. “The standard’s incredibly high out here week in and week out and average putting just isn’t going to get it done. So nice to see myself kind of up on the first page of a leaderboard.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (68) made a 7-foot par putt at 18 to make the cut on the number at even par. It is his 68th consecutive made cut.
“It was nice to get out this morning on some fresh greens and hole some putts and do what I needed to do in order to get to the weekend,” Scheffler said.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (68), the defending champion, is tied for 25th place at 2 under.
The Genesis Invitational is making its return to Riviera after it was played in the San Diego area at Torrey Pines last season following a destructive wildfire that destroyed much of the neighborhood just north of the golf course in January of last year.
Somi Lee fires career-low 61 in Thailand
South Korean Somi Lee carded a 61 – her career-low round – to move to 17-under par and take a three-stroke lead after 36 holes at the Honda LPGA Thailand on Friday.
Trailing her is World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, who, with her home-country crowd on her side, fired a 63 at the Siam Country Club Old Course in Pattaya, Thailand.
The players found the course extremely friendly on Friday, with scores in the 60s the norm. Lee and Thitikul took full advantage.
Neither player recorded a bogey. Lee had nine birdies and an eagle on her way to tying the course record. Thitikul mixed seven birdies and an eagle to help her reach 14-under.
Thitikul had her big day on her 23rd birthday, with the crowd singing “Happy Birthday” to her on her birdie holes. She said she will remember the day for both the celebration and her round.
“For the past two days, I have been in a good position where I just want my ball to be,” she said. “So if we can put the ball where it’s kind of safe, not too risky, should be not a big problem with this golf course.”
Lee, obviously, also was pleased by her round.
“My shots went well overall, but even the shots that didn’t go well I was able to save with my putter, so I think that’s what overall went well today,” she said.
Lee is looking for her second career LPGA title. She won the Dow Championship in June 2025.
“I had the best score of my life today so I’m emotional,” she said. “But since the competition is not over and there is still two more days left, I just want to celebrate this a little bit.”
The players had to fight the heat on the course, which was a challenge, according to Lydia Ko, who moved into a share of third with Japan’s Chizzy Iwai after a bogey-free 64. But the heat didn’t deter Ko, and she appreciated the state of her game.
“My ball striking is something that we’ve been trying to dial down, and especially my iron play,” the New Zealander said. “I think I had like my worst iron greens in regulation stats these past couple years, so that was something that was really high on my attention list.
“It’s been a while since I hit 16 greens, so definitely nice to come off with a round like that. Yeah, especially with Jeeno playing well today, I felt like the whole group was really able to get in a good momentum and make a lot of birdies out there.”
Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka were the first-round leaders but couldn’t keep up with the low rounds. Wannasaen shot a 71 to come in at 8-under and in a tie for 13th. Hataoka’s 72 put her at 7-under and T22.
Defending champion Angel Yin followed her opening round of 69 with a 75 and is at even par for the tournament.
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