As the solar scheme in the Pacific, Marco Penge, a PGA Tour rookie who earned his card by being among the top 10 avid gamers on the DP World Tour ultimate season, sits tied for the lead at 12 beneath with mature Clemson standout Jacob Bridgeman.
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Appropriate beneath these two supporting actors is a trio of stars whose names have been on hundreds of marquees.
Rory McIlroy, who done the profession Wide Slam by winning the 2025 Masters, followed up an opening-spherical 65 with a 66 on Friday to reach 11 beneath. Xander Schauffele, the winner of two majors and the 2020 Olympic gold medal, posted 68 to withhold out at 9 beneath, together with Adam Scott. The Australian, who acquired the 2013 Masters, torched Riviera for a entrance-nine 30 earlier than going eagle-birdie-birdie on 11, 12 and 13. A unfortunate tee shot and a overlooked 7-foot putt on the 18th left him three shots at the abet of the leaders
Listed below are five things we learned on Friday at the Genesis Invitational.
Inserting pep talk can repay for Marco Penge
Marco Penge Friday at Riviera Nation Membership at some level of the 2026 Genesis Invitational.
We knew Marco Penge might perhaps perhaps perhaps play, however even he wasn’t particular if he might perhaps perhaps perhaps putt to the level of the PGA Tour stars that he’s now competing against. To this level, however, the Englishman is doing valid dazzling after a well-timed arm around the shoulder from Phil Kenyon.
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After experimenting early in the week with a left-hand low setup, Penge admitted the accelerate of the greens “win of freaked me out.” The mechanics weren’t the situation, and in level of truth he mentioned the ball was starting online. The say was mental clutter.
“I’ve been in my beget manner on the greens,” Penge mentioned Friday evening after signing for a 66 that put his identify atop the leaderboard at the Genesis Invitational heading into the weekend. But Kenyon, his inserting coach, stepped in Wednesday with what Penge described as a indispensable pep talk.
To this level, its worked, because by two rounds, Penge ranks 2nd in the field in Strokes Acquired: Inserting and he’s holed over 173 feet of putts.
But the more telling component isn’t the number, it’s the shift in mindset.
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“Appropriate forgetting about where’s my line aiming, forgetting about ‘What lift out I need to contemplate to stroke it well,’ forgetting about all the technical stuff,” Penge mentioned. “It’s more scoping the putt out from the sides and strolling around the gap and no doubt visualizing and going in the putt.”
In other phrases, much less mechanics, more feel. Less stroke theory, more imagination.
On fleet greens, which Penge admits he’s composed getting used to, it’s made a large difference.
Ball flight is the key for Rory
Rory McIlroy plays a shot on the 12th gap at some level of the 2nd spherical of The Genesis Invitational.
After switching from a TaylorMade TP5x to a TP5 earlier than the start of the 2025 AT&T Pebble Sea glide Pro-Am, which he acquired, Rory McIlroy mentioned that the ball helped him embrace partial shots and communicate to shots, and it helped him preserve an eye fixed on lope and trajectory more effectively.
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He’s playing the updated, 2026 TP5 this week at Riviera, and it sounds appreciate he thinks the identical form of shots will be serious for success.
“I feel it is foremost to govern your ball flight no doubt well downwind or into the wind reckoning on what you will want,” McIlroy mentioned Friday evening. “Love 18, as an instance. That’s in kind very laborious shot, that 2nd shot, because the abet pin is straight downwind. You are a minute timid of going lengthy and then having that downhiller. So, I eased up on mine leaving it 30 feet short. It be a demanding one.”
McIlroy noted that the delicate greens are composed fleet, which echoed comments Collin Morikawa made Thursday evening.
“It be laborious to to find it no doubt discontinuance because the greens are delicate, however then they’re additionally fleet and they’ve got rather a form of pitch to them,” he mentioned. “Once balls to find momentum some distance flung from the gap, they valid kind of preserve going. It be laborious to to find the ball no doubt, no doubt discontinuance, I’ve found, however valid stored giving myself kind of 20, 25-footers vivid that pars on some holes are ideal and you steal merit of the more scorable holes.”
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Scott plays his most efficient spherical ever at his favorite event
Adam Scott on the 17th tee at some level of the 2nd spherical of the 2026 Genesis Invitational.
Appropriate as Fred Couples seems appreciate he was made to play Augusta National, Adam Scott seems to come abet alive when he arrives at Riviera Nation Membership. This twelve months marks his 18th time playing here. Scott has acquired twice, been a runner up twice and earned seven top 10s.
When asked where his Friday 63 ranked among all his rounds conducted here, he didn’t hesitate.
“It be potentially my most efficient spherical out here,” Scott mentioned. “I do know there were a form of fine ratings lately. I did shoot … I undergo in mind one, I contemplate it was the twelve months I acquired recently (2020) that I shot, I contemplate it was on Thursday, I shot 7 beneath in the morning. It was a drier week, perhaps more intelligent, however there’s continuously a say. Love valid getting the ball to the gap is laborious when the greens are delicate here, so here is great.”
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In actuality, Scott was recalling a Friday 64 abet in 2020, however that’s dazzling. At age 45, Scott is appreciative valid to be at the Genesis Invitational all as soon as more.
“It be awesome. I’m fortunate to be here this week on an invite, obviously. It be my favorite stay on Tour of the twelve months, so I’m alive to to produce the most of it,” Scott mentioned. “I have been feeling appreciate I’ve had a form of fine golf since ultimate summer, and got fully no results thanks to average inserting, I could perhaps perhaps perhaps divulge. The customary’s incredibly high out here week in and week out, and average inserting valid just isn’t no doubt going to to find it accomplished. So, good to behold myself win of up on the first page of a leaderboard, and confidently I can play a pair more ideal rounds and be in the hunt.”
Fitzpatrick just isn’t a fan of No. 10
Matt Fitzpatrick waiting on the tenth gap at some level of the 2nd spherical of The Genesis Invitational.
Matt Fitzpatrick followed-up a principal spherical 66 with a 69 on Friday to withhold out the day tied for eighth at 7 beneath. After signing his card, the 2022 U.S. Initiate champion was jubilant together with his spherical and the procedure he’s playing, however he was not up to jubilant with one gap.
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“Yeah, it was a great spherical. I felt appreciate I conducted no doubt solid. Appropriate a bogey on 10, the world’s most most potentially not golf gap. I might head away it there,” he mentioned.
The tenth gap at Riviera is one of the most celebrated and studied drivable par-4s in golf. At valid 300 yards, unbiased about each participant in the field can reach it with out say, however the green is angled from entrance-left to abet valid and is guarded by bunkers in the entrance and abet. Missing your tee shot valid is death. Missing into the entrance bunker results in a harmful sand shot that oftentimes rolls into the abet bunker.
Most avid gamers accelerate for the green’s left facet, and then either hit a pitch shot to the gap or, if they happen to hit the green, attempt a lengthy putt. Of the 72 avid gamers who took it on Friday, Ryan Fox made the lone eagle when he holed a bunker shot. Twenty-seven avid gamers made birdie, 33 scored a par, 10 made bogey and one participant, Si Woo Kim, made a double-bogey six.
Asked about his strategy on the 300-yard par 4, Fitzpatrick, who’s one of the most analytically-minded golfers around, bit his lip.
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“Yeah, I indicate, I originate not no doubt must chat about it too grand, I might valid to find disaster up,” he mentioned. “But hit and hope, let’s accelerate away it at that.”
Scheffler’s leisurely start doesn’t indicate he’s accomplished
Scottie Scheffler Friday at the 2026 Genesis Invitaional.
The Genesis Invitational is Scottie Scheffler’s fourth event of the PGA Tour season. He acquired the first, the American Categorical, taking pictures 63-64-68-66, however since then he’s had three terrible (by his customary) opening rounds. There was a 73 at the WM Phoenix Initiate and then a 72 at the AT&T Pebble Sea glide Pro-Am. This week, Scheffler posted a 74 that was interrupted by darkness Thursday evening and done on Friday. He had to produce a snatch birdie on 17 and then come up-and-down on 18 valid to produce the in the reduction of at even-par 142.
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Asked if there was a scheme off of his leisurely starts recently, the world’s No. 1 participant mentioned, “I could perhaps perhaps perhaps not divulge something else in particular. I contemplate in each the ultimate two, teeing off late, just isn’t no doubt the absolute best and I’ve gotten off to leisurely starts. Love, teeing off the old day when we did was elegant intelligent around this golf direction. I indicate, the wind, and with how delicate the greens were, and the procedure bumpy they can to find together with wind and they’re fleet.” He added, positively, “It was good to to find out this morning on some recent greens and gap some putts and lift out what I needed to withhold out in show to to find to the weekend.”
Scheffler will start the final 36 holes 12 shots at the abet of the leaders, which potentially methodology that he acquired’t be in the mix on Sunday evening. We divulge potentially because even after his leisurely opening rounds at his ultimate two events, Scheffler done T-3 and T-4, respectively. He’ll have an early tee time Saturday, so Scheffler should composed play on ideal greens and in ideal stipulations. We’re not counting him out yet.
This text at the start looked on Golfweek: 5 things we learned Friday at the 2026 Genesis Invitational
