Genesis Invitational: Patrick Cantlay stays hot at Riviera

Patrick Cantlay has been arguably the hottest golfer on the PGA Tour since returning to action late in 2020.

Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Cantlay has made the cut in every tournament he has participated in. Within these eight events, Cantlay has accumulated six top-25 finishes, four top-10 finishes, and a single win.

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Given this recent success, it was no surprise to see Cantlay begin the week as one of the favorites to win the Genesis Invitational.

Starting on the back nine, Cantlay started with a bogey on the par-4 10th. However, Cantlay rebounded nicely with back-to-back birdies,

Cantlay narrowly missed a putt for par on the par-4 15th and fell back to even after six holes. He closed out his first nine with three straight pars and made the turn at even par.

After an eventful first nine holes, Cantlay turned it around to finish the day.

Cantlay opened up his final nine with a par on the par-5 No. 1, which was a bit concerning considering how easily the hole had played.

Despite not being able to take advantage of one of the easiest holes on the course, Cantlay captured a birdie on each of the next two holes to reach 2-under par.

Cantlay followed up his back-to-back birdies with another stretch of three straight pars.

Cantlay found two more birdies in the last three holes to close out his opening round, which gave the 28-year old six birdies on the day.

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After a dominant final nine, the two bogeys on the front have to sting a little more. However, even despite the early struggles during his first nine, Cantlay fought back to finish with a 4-under par 67.

Cantlay currently sits in a tie for second with five other golfers, trailing only Matthew Fitzpatrick and Max Homa at the time of publishing.

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