Seventh-ranked Patrick Cantlay wasn’t as sharp as he was in the first two rounds, but remained atop the leaderboard.
Cantlay, from Los Alamitos and UCLA, shot one-under-par 70 to take a two-stroke lead over fifth-ranked Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris to the final round of the 96th Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
“I played solid golf today,” said Cantlay, whose eight PGA Tour victories include the 2021 Tour Championship. “I didn’t make any long putts or anything like the first two rounds. I didn’t really give myself too many birdie chances, but all-in-all it was a solid day, and I put myself in a good position for tomorrow.
“Being from Southern California, this is one of the tournaments on the list that I’d like to win the most.”
Cantlay, who opened with 64-65 to lead by five strokes after the first two rounds, made three birdies and two bogeys in his 70 to record a 54-hole score of 14-under-par 199.
Schauffele, from La Jolla and San Diego State, made a 13-foot eagle putt on the first hole to kick-start a bogey-free 6, while Zalatoris, who was born in San Francisco but grew up in Dallas, didn’t make a hole in one the way he did in the second round, but collected seven birdies in another 65.
“To play good golf around Riviera you’ve got to sort of fire on all cylinders and I’ve been able to do that the last couple days,” said Schauffele, who has won seven times on the PGA Tour and also captured the 2021 Olympic Gold in Tokyo. “I just wanted to give myself a shot to win tomorrow.”
Cantlay and Schauffele, who are close friends, will play together in the final twosome in the last round.
Luke List, who two PGA Tour victories have come in playoffs, birdied three of the last six holes to cap a 68 and is three shots back in solo fourth, while birdied the first three holes and added three birdies on the back nine in a bogey-free 66 to wind up one more down in a tie for fifth with 2015 PGA champion Jason Day of Australia, who holed out from 22 feet for an eagle on the 17th hole in a second straight 69.
J.T. Poston had four birdies on the back nine in a 66 and is six strokes behind in a tie for seventh with Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who birdied the last two holes for a 68, and Corey Conners of Canada, who made a late birdie to shoot 70.
Adam Svensson of Canada carded three birdies on the back nine in a 67 and is seven shots behind in a tie for 10th with Beau Hossler of Rancho Santa Margarita, who birdied two of the first three holes in a 68, Adam Hadwin of Canada, who birdied the last two holes for a 67, Tom Hoge, who had three birdies in the first 10 holes of a 70, and Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, who made his lone birdie on the first hole of a 72.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler made a birdie on the 17th hole to salvage a 70 and is in a tie for 20th that includes eighth-ranked Max Homa of Valencia and Cal, who sank a 39-foot eagle putt on the first hole of another 70, while second-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland made a late birdie in a 69 and is in a tie for 27th that includes fourth-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway, who had two birdies down the stretch in a 70.
Tenth-ranked Brrian Harman birdied the last hole for a 71 and is tied for 34th.
For complete results and final-round tee times, visit: https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard
