In California, you lift a rock and out comes a golfer who has shot under 70 that morning, another who won a Major the day before yesterday, and one more who has lost count of the weeks he has been in the world top 10. There was no better stage than Riviera Country Club to pay tribute to the queen of golf. Not one, not two, but three golfers born in California occupy the top three positions of the Genesis Invitational with 18 holes left. A tournament, by the way, whose host, yes, you guessed it, was born in Cypress, California to be precise.
Patrick Cantlay (-14), a native of Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, has stayed on top after the moving day, but they have closed in on him and in a big way. He started the day with a five-stroke lead and has retired to his quarters with just a two-stroke advantage. Calm, what you would call calm, he is not going to be. He shot 70, one under par.
Basically, his putter, without being bad, don’t get me wrong, has cooled down. He has putted less than Thursday and Friday, and yet he has sunk a very good par putt of more than three meters on the 12th and another birdie putt of about two and a half meters on the 1st. Of course, following the line of the first two rounds, he has made all three par putts he has had between one and one and a half meters. But he has taken fewer birdie opportunities between three and six meters. That’s why his score stayed at 70.
The second place is shared by Will Zalatoris and Xander Schauffele. Both two strokes behind. Zalatoris, a native of San Francisco, north of Los Angeles, has signed a round of 65 strokes. Sensational. It’s been a long time since he was in such a situation, fighting for victory on a Sunday from the front row of the starting grid. Good to have you back, Will. We’ll see how he handles the pressure of being there tomorrow after so long. There will be a lot of emotion contained after the hard time he has had with his back injury.
Schauffele, a native of San Diego, south of Los Angeles, has done the same as Zalatoris. He has handed in 65 strokes and has presented his candidacy for victory in golden letters. We’re not saying he needs it, but it’s been a long time since he lifted a trophy, too long for his quality, specifically since July 2022. Interestingly, his last victory was at a Genesis, the one in Scotland.
San Francisco, Long Beach and San Diego. This is a real derby and not a Real Madrid – Barça. They are the three big favourites to win, although players like Luke List (-11), Jason Day (-10) or Harris English (-10) should not be written off yet. The rest have run out of margin, unless something very strange or very special happens.
There was no better tribute to pay to the queen California. There is no corner of the world better represented in the elite of professional golf. Right now in the world top 10 there are three Californians (Homa, Cantlay and Schauffele) and up to eight if we look at the top 50 (Morikawa, Theegala, Fowler, Kitayama and Cole). There are 25 Americans among the top 50 and almost a third are from California. It has something special.
In addition, the two brightest stars in the history of golf in the 21st century are from California. We are referring, of course, to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Their joint harvest of Majors is staggering, but to them must be added as champions of majors in this century players like Collin Morikawa or Bryson DeChambeau. Exceptional. There is no boredom in California.
The playing conditions this Saturday, by the way, have been much better than Thursday and Friday. There was very little wind and the day was cloudy and humid. The greens, in addition to being receptive, have lost some speed and have become more manageable. Today the golfers have not suffered so much. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. Whatever happens, California will continue to show off.
