Max Homa opens up one-shot lead at the Genesis Invitational to move away from rivals

Max Homa got a one stroke lead at the Genesis Invitational when play was suspended due to darkness on Friday night in Los Angeles.

Fourteen players still need to complete their second rounds when they return to Riviera Country Club on Saturday morning. The cutoff line will likely remain at 1 with the conclusion of the second round, meaning Tiger Woods would make the cutoff at the number after his second round of 74.

Homa shot a 3-under 68 on Friday to slide ahead of the pack to 10-under 132. Keith Mitchell (69 on Friday), Lee Hodges (66) and Spanish star Jon Rahm (68) are tied for second at 9-under. 133.

Homa, the 2021 champion and a native of nearby Burbank, California, was a co-leader in one round and began his second round with a streak of four birdies over five holes at numbers 9-13.

He finished with six birdies and three bogeys. He could have had a two-shot lead if he hadn’t bogeyed the par-4 18th.

Max Homa leads the way at the Genesis Invitational, a shot ahead of Jon Rahm and others

Rory McIlroy is also just four strokes off the overall lead going into the weekend.

Four of Homa’s six PGA Tour victories have come in his home state of California, including last month’s Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

“I think I see the bumps on the green poa annua and I don’t flinch, they don’t give me the creeps,” Homa said. ‘I enjoy it. I know that people are going to get frustrated and I like that in a competition.

‘I’m not really sure why I play so well in California. Obviously, there’s some comfort with the turf and the distance you get to the ball. I don’t know. This particular golf course suits me very well. It suits a lot of the shots I like to take. That is my best estimate.

Homa led the field in strokes gained: putting in the second round (3,929).

Rahm holed two eagle putts on Friday to ensure he was red despite more bogeys (four) than birdies (three).

After putting 18 1/2 feet on the first par-5 hole for Eagle, he made the magic happen on the par-5 17. His approach struck the base of a seating area behind the green, bounced onto the green and it rolled past a greenside bunker less than 4 feet from the cup.

“I tried to make the cut tighter, I went a bit too far knowing that that bunker is a doable spot,” Rahm said. .’.. Obviously, I was very lucky to get that bounce to not only go to the green, but to have basically 3 straight feet up the hill. It’s arguably the best rebound I’ve ever seen in person in my entire golf career and it would be hard to top in the future.”

Jon Rahm shot a 3-under 68 on Friday to put himself in a good spot going into the weekend.

Hodges had six birdies and one bogey, while Mitchell, who co-led with Homa overnight, had five birdies and three bogeys on his card.

As a so-called designated event with a high purse, the biggest names on the PGA Tour are dotting the leaderboard.

Alone in fifth is Collin Morikawa, whose 68 in the second round moved him to 8 under par for the tournament. Morikawa birdied from 34 feet on the par-4 third, then birdied another on the par-4 fifth by holeing a 42-foot putt from the fairway.

“It’s very nice, but you know what, it’s a little frustrating not being able to touch more greens,” Morikawa said. ‘You know, going into the week, the hitting of the ball still felt good even after last week. I knew it was going to be a small solution, I just haven’t found it. I want to make it a little more stress-free and a little more enjoyable.

Patrick Cantlay shot a 67 to move into sixth at 7-under. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (69) is tied with Matt Kuchar (70) for seventh at 6 under par. Will Zalatoris, who has one hole left to go in his second round, is tied at 5 under par with Gary Woodland (68) and former Masters champion Danny Willett of England (69).

Other notable names that will be on hand over the weekend include World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (4-under 138), South Korea’s Sungjae Im (4-under), Norway’s Viktor Hovland (2-under), Justin Thomas (1 bass), Tony Finau (1 bass) and Australian Adam Scott (pair).

Collin Morikawa is also close at hand and will surely challenge the right at the top.

Playing in his first competitive event since the Open Championship in July and his first official non-major tournament since winning the 2019 Zozo Championship, Woods followed up a 69 in the first round with a 74 that featured five bogeys and just two birdies.

Woods left his tee shot on the par-3 sixth at the front of the green, 71 feet from the cup. The hole has the unusual feature of a bunker in the center of the green, and Woods’ attempt at a delayed putt ended up in the bunker, forcing him to bogey up and down.

“I was actually trying to hit … my putt to where (Thomas) was and the hill caught him more than I thought and he ended up in a bunker,” Woods said. ‘I mean, he was trying to give me a chance to make pair and, worst case scenario, bogey. So realistically I had two bad calls in the wind at 6 and 9 and ended up costing myself two shots there.’

Still, Woods, the tournament host, will likely qualify for the weekend in the top 65 and tie. Notable names who didn’t make the cut include Jordan Spieth (2+), England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose (2+), Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (2+) and Sam Burns (5+).