Round One is in the books at the Genesis Invitational. Let’s take a look at some of the storylines from the opening round at Riviera.
All eyes were on Tiger Woods Thursday at the Genesis Invitational, and rightfully so. This was the first year that the tournament was designated as an invitational, and many wondered if Tiger would be able to win “his own” tournament.
Through one hole, and even through the front nine, it definitely looked like he was going to be the frontrunner. He eagled this first hole and would make the turn at -4, a number that if he were to finish the day at, would be good for T-2nd.
Unfortunately for Tiger and all his fans, the back nine did not go as well. He shot +2 on the back and would finish the day at -2, five shots back of the leader. Don’t worry too much though, as he is only two shots back of second place at the start of the second round.
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One of the coolest events from the first round has to do with the length of Tiger’s eagle putt. He was faced with a 24 foot, 8-inch putt, and he drained it. Tiger was good friends with Kobe Bryant, and sometimes being able to honor someone just works out in interesting fashion.
Matt Kuchar is the man that everyone is chasing, and he came out hot on Thursday. He shot 32-32, good enough to get him to -7, and holds an early and commanding three-shot lead over the rest of the field.
There were five golfers sitting at -4, although none of them likely stand out too much. Harold Varner III is the one you are most familiar with, either he or Wyndham Clark.
There is a strong group at -3, with a total of 10 golfers shooting 68 on Thursday at the Genesis Invitational. They are lead by some of the best in the world, including Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Jason Day, and Bryson DeChambeau.
Rory had one of the more interesting days on the course of anyone playing at Riviera. Normally, when a player is able to card two eagles in a round, they put up a great score. Unfortunately for Rory, he was unable to do so. He did find eagle on both the 1st and 17th hole but was only able to obtain one birdie during his round, and two bogeys.
Justin Thomas and Abraham Ancer are likely the two names you would be most familiar with if you were to flip the standings and check out the bottom of the leaderboard. Ancer shot +5, and Thomas shot +3, putting a lot of work in front of them if they want to make any noise at all this weekend.
Tee Times are already underway for the second round of the Genesis Invitational, and the likes of Tiger Woods and Justin Rose have already teed off. Stop pretending like you are working, and go watch some PGA golf.