Matt Kuchar didn’t play as well as he did in the first round, but it was good enough to keep him on top of the leaderboard.
Kuchar posted a 2-under-par 69 and holds a two-stroke lead over top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Wyndham Clark and Harold Varner III midway through the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club www.therivieracountryclub.com in Pacific Palisades.
However, Kooch was not all that pleased with his ball-striking in round two.
“I better find more control,” said Kuchar, who hit only 15-of-28 fairways in the first two rounds and made a bogey-6 on the relatively easy first hole. “You feel like you’ve already given up two shots on the day. Never a fun way to start. But knowing there’s 17 holes to go, there’s still room to figure it out.
“Bottom line is being in control of what you’re doing, and I could use a little more control over the weekend. It definitely wasn’t my best stuff today. Two under was an awfully good score for the way I drove it.”
The 41-year-old Kuchar, who claimed two of his nine PGA Tour victories last season and won the Singapore Open two weeks ago, followed his opening 64 with a round in which he was even-par on the front nine before birdies on the 10th and 11th holes led him to a 36-hole total of 9-under 133.
McIlroy, who regained the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings this week, collected three birdies on each nine in a 67, while Varner also made three birdies coming home in a 68, and Clark carded three birdies on each nine in another 68.
Varner and Clark have never won on the PGA Tour.
“I didn’t get myself into trouble off the tee and managed my way around the course, which you have to do at Riviera,” said McIlroy, who won three times last season while claiming the FedEx Cup. “It was nice to play the back nine in 2-under, made some nice up-and-downs, and that’s what I’ll have to do on the weekend.
“It would love to win and add this one to my list, which is what you think about any tournament you haven’t won. But it would mean even more here with all the history. I love this course, it’s one of the best we play, and I hope they have another major here some day.”
Said Varner, who missed the cut in his last four events and claimed his only pro victory in the 2016 Australian PGA Championship: “I hit a lot of fairways and greens, just a lot of good shots. It can be tough on this course if you hit the ball in the wrong spots, but I was able to avoid that. I’m excited to be play on the weekend and have to just trust what I have been doing. It’s that simple.”
Adam Scott, who won the rain-shortened tournament at Riviera in 2005, made five birdies on the back nine in a bogey-free 64 that was the low round of the day and is three shots back in a tie for fourth with Sung Kang of South Korea, who birdied four of the first seven holes in a 67, Vaughn Taylor, who also had a 67, and Russell Henley who made bogeys on three of the last six holes in a 69.
Chez Reavie carded a 68 and is four down in a tie for ninth with Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain, who had a 69.
Third-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain totaled 68 and is in a tie for 11th that includes, fifth-ranked Dustin Johnson, who eagled the first and 17th holes in a 66, 10th-ranked Justin Rose of England and defending champion J.B. Holmes, who both finished at 69.
Sixth-ranked Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos and UCLA is tied for 26th after a 72, which eighth-ranked Tiger Woods, the tournament host, could manage only a 73 and is in a tie for 45th that includes second-ranked Brooks Koepka, who also had a 73, and ninth-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, who came in at 70.
Three-time Genesis winner Bubba Watson posted a second 72 and missed the cut by one stroke, while fourth-ranked Justin Thomas shot 71 and missed by two, and two-time Riviera winner Phil Mickelson struggled to a 74 and missed by three shots.
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