As Tiger Woods’ early exit at the Genesis Invitational made headlines, Jordan Spieth was quietly disqualified from the tournament for signing the wrong score on his scorecard.
It was Spieth’s first disqualification in 263 PGA tournaments.
Spieth was three shots off the lead going into the second-round turn at Riviera until he missed three shots when Patrick Cantlay, playing in his group, began to pull away.
Spieth made double bogey on the 18th hole for a 73, leaving him 10 shots behind. But he shot a 3 on the par-3 fourth hole when he actually shot a 4, leading to disqualification. Spieth had missed the green to the left, narrowed to about 4 feet and pulled out.
“Today I signed an incorrect scorecard and left the scoring area, after thinking I went through all the procedures to make sure it was correct,” Spieth later wrote in X. “Rules are rules and I take full responsibility” . I love this tournament and golf course as much as anyone on @PGATOUR, so it hurts not to race this weekend. Really appreciate the support in LA @thegenesisinv @thegenesisinv.’
Jordan Spieth tees off on the fourth hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational
Spieth was three shots off the lead at the turn in the second round before being disqualified.
That leaves 51 players in the field for the weekend at Riviera. The signature event had a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Cantlay started with an eagle and never let anyone get close to him for the rest of Friday’s round. He shot a six-under 65 to build a five-stroke lead at the Genesis Invitational ahead of a weekend that won’t include Woods.
Woods made another early exit, this time due to flu symptoms rather than his injured body. He withdrew after six holes and spent the next two hours receiving intravenous fluids before leaving Riviera, along with a large portion of the gallery.
‘It’s not physical at all. His back is fine,” said Rob McNamara, a former association member and vice president of TGR Ventures. “It was all a medical illness, dehydration, and now the symptoms are reversing now that they’ve put him on an IV.”
Woods was driven away in a red pickup truck around the time Cantlay was fleeing the field.
Cantlay has been doing almost everything and giving himself many opportunities. He knows Riviera as well as any PGA Tour course, having attended UCLA. He has probably played this course about 70 times in college and as a professional.
“Putting really well and leaving the golf ball in the right place, which is really key here,” said Cantlay, who leads the field in the key putting statistic. ‘It is a golf course in which I feel very comfortable and it is in the best condition I have ever seen.
“They’re the best golf surfaces I’ve seen around this place,” he said. “I like it when the greens are really fast, they’re faster than ever and I’ve hit a lot of them.”
It’s an unfortunate ending for Tiger Woods at the Genesis as he retires due to illness.
Even when he seemed to be in trouble, he managed well. Cantlay missed the fairway on Riviera’s two toughest holes, Nos. 12 and 15. He hit a 4-iron to 10 feet on No. 12 (missed the birdie putt) and a 4-iron to 3 feet on No. 15. Making one of the only three birdies on that hole in the second round.
He was 13-under 129, giving him a five-stroke lead over Jason Day (69), Luke List (69) and Mackenzie Hughes (65).
Woods wasn’t the only surprising exit. Jordan Spieth, who played with Cantlay, had a rough finish that left him 10 shots behind, only to sign an incorrect card and be disqualified.
That left Riviera with a 51-man field for the weekend. This signature event has a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties anyone within 10 strokes; the latter was not a problem thanks to Cantlay. The cut came at 1 over 143, eliminating Pebble Beach winner Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas.
Now it’s a matter of trying to catch Cantlay, who doesn’t find much to dislike this week.
Day and List played in the morning and set the target at 8 under, and it didn’t take long for Cantlay to catch them. He made his approach on the par-5 opening hole 15 feet behind the flag and holed it out for eagle.
The big excitement belonged to Will Zalatoris, who scored a 70 that only looked normal on the scorecard. Zalatoris had five bogeys and four birdies, plus a hole-in-one on the 14th hole. This ace came with a car, not only for Zalatoris but also for caddy Joel Stock.
“Most of the time when I shoot 1 under, it’s like two birdies and a bogey,” Zalatoris said. “Having a hole-in-one and a bunch of crazy bogeys isn’t exactly how we would have approached it, but we’re still going to take it this way.”
Cantlay watches his putt on the 13th green during the second round of the Genesis Invitational
Corey Conners of Canada scored a 65 and placed fifth. Zalatoris was joined by Xander Schauffele (66) and Tom Hoge (70). Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number one player, had another sublime tee-to-green performance and more battles on the greens to shoot a 70.
Rory McIlroy can replace Scheffler at world No. 1 with just one win, and his first step was to make it to the weekend. McIlroy had a 66 to take over the first half, although that still leaves him eight shots behind Cantlay, who isn’t doing much wrong.
‘Sometimes you just go through periods where you earn more in a given week than others. “I’ve had weeks where I’ve gotten really excited about putting, so I’m hoping this is one of those weeks,” Cantlay said.
He was asked if having a good attitude towards green poa annua leaves could help.
“You’re probably asking the wrong person,” he said. ‘When you’ve made as many putts as I have in the last few days, it’s easy to have a good attitude on the greens. ‘