The Pak Global Pakistan:
At the halfway point of the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, Rory McIlroy sits just one shot behind the joint leaders, England’s Marco Penge and American Jacob Bridgeman.
Penge delivered an impressive performance, birdying five of his final seven holes to finish his day at eight-under-par. After completing two rounds, he stands at 12 under overall. What made Penge’s day even more remarkable was that he had to finish the nine holes from a weather-delayed first round before starting his second round on Friday.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy carded a strong seven-under 65 on Friday, moving to 11 under for the tournament. Coming off a joint 14th place finish at Pebble Beach last week, McIlroy noted that the Riviera Country Club course played more forgivingly.
“There’s no Pacific Ocean to hit it into around this golf course, so that helps,” McIlroy said. “I still hit some loose shots, but the course setup is in a way that you can get away with it a little bit more. I’ve controlled my distance well for the most part and holed some nice putts from inside 8 feet for pars when I needed to.”
Penge, 27, shared insights into his personal life after his round, revealing that his wife is expecting their second child next week. The couple recently relocated to Florida.
“It’s been quite tough the last four weeks for me and my family,” he admitted. “She’s been in the US on her own, heavily pregnant, looking after a one-and-a-half-year-old at the same time with no family or friends around. It’s been like a bit of a gamble for me just going to compete and leaving her on her own.”
Jacob Bridgeman later joined Penge at the top of the leaderboard with a sharpshooting 64.
Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler managed to make the cut by sinking a crucial seven-foot par putt on the 18th hole, finishing level par for the tournament.
“It was nice to get out this morning on some fresh greens and hole some putts and do what I needed to do in order to get to the weekend,” Scheffler said.
The weekend promises intense competition with McIlroy, Penge, and Bridgeman locked in a tight battle for the Genesis Invitational title.