– Aaron Rai (-6) is the provisional leader of the Genesis Invitational, as the first round could not be completed due to a long suspension caused by the heavy rain that hit the Riviera Country Club yesterday. The Englishman has two holes left to finish, and therefore, officially, the co-leaders of the tournament, with this first round already completed, are Rory McIlroy (-5) and Jacob Bridgerman (-5). The water, in the early stages of the day, and then the wind, once play resumed, have been significant factors, although the softness of the greens has somewhat facilitated things for the players. Either way, Riviera is never an easy opponent. Just ask Scottie Scheffler (+5)…
– For the third consecutive tournament and in consecutive weeks, the World Number One has started with ice on his wings and is once again making the goal of victory too complicated. In Phoenix, he started with a 73 and was ten shots off the lead; last week at Pebble Beach, he began with a 72, again conceding a rich ten shots to the leader; this week, at the Genesis Invitational and the legendary Riviera Country Club, it’s more of the same, although even worse, as he couldn’t finish the round due to lack of light, caused by the extensive rain delay that split the day in two. Perhaps this circumstance could save him if he can straighten out the course of this first round on Friday, but for now, he is already eleven shots behind the provisional leader, with six holes to play. Whoever knows exactly what’s happening, raise your hand…
– Surely not even Scheffler himself knows. It’s all as absurd as it is unexpected. In that first round in Phoenix, he really paid the price for a somewhat irregular game, with too many mistakes. In Pebble, a week ago, Scottie played from tee to green better than his final score indicated, but he couldn’t find a way to score, contrary to his usual habit, as he is a true specialist in ‘crafting’ scorecards of 68 or 69 strokes, for instance, on challenging days. Today’s performance at Riviera was closer to the dark version of Phoenix. In reality, it surpassed it, for the worse. Too many errors in all areas of the game. He struggled immensely to hit fairways, and when he did, he couldn’t leave the ball close to the hole. Additionally, the putter was cold, cold…
– And to think he started as the manual dictates on the 1st hole at Riviera, probably the easiest par 5 of the year for these guys, leaving the ball on the green in two, but then signed a three-putt after a very poor first putt. From there, his round was almost a series of blunders, especially considering his usual standards of play. Even without considering them, it’s no wonder Scheffler is currently in last place on the leaderboard…
– And as the saying goes, the pitcher goes to the well until it breaks, we’ll have to see if this time he can climb back to the top positions, as he did in Phoenix and Pebble. For now, given the circumstances, he will first have to make the cut on Friday. The top fifty and ties make it (he is currently five shots off that mark) and, additionally, those within ten shots of the leader. We must assume that tomorrow will be different on a long day for him, as he will have to play 24 holes. Anything less than a six or seven under par in those 24 holes would likely leave him out of any chance of a great comeback.
– There is a small glimmer of hope for the Texan: at the time the horn sounded announcing the suspension, Scheffler had left himself a birdie chance of about three metres on the 11th hole, a par 5, and wisely decided not to finish the hole: given how things were going on this other black Thursday, it seemed impossible for him to make it (he had just missed a much shorter one to save par on the 10th, with a 225-degree lip-out included). Today, therefore, he left Riviera without making a single birdie; tomorrow we’ll see if he can start with one on that 11th hole and begin the long and tortuous comeback.
