On a Torrey Pines South Course that more than lived up to its reputation as a beast, Denny McCarthy closed birdie-eagle for a 4-under 68 on Thursday, capping off a terrible day in the most beautiful way possible.
Seamus Power and Patrick Rodgers were one shot behind McCarthy. Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world and one who is finally getting into his rhythm after a late start, dropped a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and was in the group at 70.
For McCarthy and a few others, the pro-am was the ideal preparation. For that, too, it was damp and cold, and he was prepared.
“I approached it with the mindset that I would simply enjoy myself and do my best to embrace it.” Stated McCarthy who is still trying to win his first trophy on the PGA Tour.
When McCarthy made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th par-3 hole, he was coming off a bogey. He then changed to a 3-wood for his 2nd shot on the par-5 closing hole to a back right pin. For his eagle putt, the ball rolled up to 7 feet.
Due to the wildfires in Los Angeles that destroyed a large portion of the Pacific Palisades, the Genesis Invitational moved from Riviera to the intimidating South Course at Torrey Pines this year.
It was an excellent choice since it was prepared for the tournament after holding the Farmers Insurance Open 3 weeks prior, and it had ties to the tournament host, Tiger Woods, whose 8 professional Torrey Pines titles include a U.S. Open.
After hosting 2 U.S. Opens, Torrey Pines seemed as if it could hold another 1 at any time. Only 3 players broke 70, and only 10 others broke par, even on soft greens after a continuous rain.
Two weeks after winning at Pebble Beach, Rory McIlroy shot a solid 72, making 2 birdies and 2 bogeys. At 73, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, and Collin Morikawa were among the huge group.
Scheffler played 2-over the remainder of the round after making 4 birdies in 7 holes. He did not apologise for 2 of the par 5s that he missed on his way in. At 180 yards, 40 yards shorter than usual, he hammered 5-iron for his 3rd shot on the 9th.
Furthermore, he was still 130 yards away from 2 of his best shots on the 13th hole.
3-wood, 9-iron, driver. Additionally, I smoked all 3 of them. I stripped each one of them.
In order to help scrape shots out of the rough, he used a lot of 4-irons and 5-irons, as well as a 7-wood this week.
“In terms of distance, they are undoubtedly given more attention on this course than many others. Stepping up to a par 5 usually gives you the impression that you have a decent chance of making birdie. However, if you make par on two of the par 5s, you’ll feel like you did a decent job.” Scheffler said.
“A rare occurrence on the PGA TOUR, those two with the punishing wind on Nos. 9 and 13 played over par. The 6th, which was 461 yards into the chilly wind, was the hardest hold. In this Signature Event, it failed to give up a birdie to the 72-man field.” Scheffler said.
A rare occurrence on the PGA TOUR, those two with the punishing wind on Nos. 9 and 13 played over par. The sixth, which was 461 yards into the chilly wind, was the hardest hold. In this Signature Event, it failed to give up a birdie to the 72-man field.
“4-iron is what we’re hitting. You’re usually hitting 8-iron, but the hole still plays tough” Morikawa said.
Due to his ongoing grief at his mother’s passing last week, Woods withdrew at the beginning of the week. In a subtle nod to Buddhism, which Kultida Woods adhered to, the PGA TOUR chose a solid white flag for the pin at number 7.
Through the donation of 100 tournament cars, the tournament is contributing $8 million in value to relief and rebuilding efforts in Los Angeles. When the club announced a $1 million donation on Thursday, Riviera showed everyone their participation.
The greatest score to par in the six PGA TOUR events this year and the highest at a PGA TOUR event since the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday last year was achieved by Harris English, who won at Torrey Pines three weeks ago with an 8-under par total. The North course was the site of one of the rounds. This week, all 4 are on the South Course.
English scored 75 to start. Adam Hadwin (83) and Rasmus Højgaard (82) were unable to reach 80.
“Even if the wind speed is only about 10 to 15 mph, it is actually 25 to 30 mph elsewhere.” Michael Kim said after a 71.
The forecast calls for slow clearing, most likely insufficient to remove the moisture that causes the rough to become thicker and the course to play longer. In order to assist with shots out of the rough, Scheffler has a 7-wood in his bag this week. For the first time since the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, Jordan Spieth put a 7-wood in play.
“There isn’t any pause. And for the next two days, I believe nothing will change.” Power said.
