Cantlay separates from pack at Genesis Invitational

SAN FRANCISCO: Patrick Cantlay opened a five-shot cushion at the Genesis Invitational with his second-round, 6-under 65 on Friday in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Cantlay led by one after 18 holes and began his second round by making a 14-foot eagle putt at the par-5 first hole at Riviera Country Club. He added four birdies down the stretch to get to 13-under 129.

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes fired a 65 to join Luke List (69) and Australian Jason Day (69) in a tie for second at 8 under halfway through the third signature event of the 2024 season. Another Canadian, Corey Conners, is in fifth at 7 under after also posting 65.

During a week when players have struggled to putt on the fast greens, Cantlay is gaining 6.826 strokes putting on the field.

“It’s a golf course I played so many times, I feel comfortable,” said Cantlay, a native of nearby Long Beach. “And it’s really nice to have a bunch of guys up from Virginia Country Club where I grew up just down the road. Being from Southern California, like I said, it feels like a home game.” The 2021 FedEx Cup champion has shown off his recovery game, too, as he didn’t find the fairway in regulation on any of the three holes he birdied on the back nine. At the par-4 15th, with a 4-iron out of the left rough, his second shot rolled to within 4 feet of the hole.

“I would say the two shots I hit from the rough on 12 and 15 were pretty special,” Cantlay said. “They were both cut 4-irons and they just kind of came out of the rough exactly as planned and rolled out, released exactly as planned. That doesn’t always happen coming out of the rough, but these were two great shots I played today.”

Like Cantlay, Hughes and Day also took advantage of the par-5 first hole with eagles. Hughes made his putt from almost 20 feet, then drained an unlikely chip-in birdie at the par-4 10th over a sand bunker.

“They’re all reachable,” Hughes said. “The wind on 17’s favorable downwind so that’s a huge priority is kind of taking care of those par 5s because there’s a handful of par 4s out here that are really tough pars.”