Jordan Spieth and Sung Kang of South Korea were tied for the lead at 5-under-par when darkness halted the first round of the Genesis Open, which was delayed for seven hours by torrential rain at Riviera Country Club www.therivieracountryclub.com in Pacific Palisades.
Much of the field, including tournament host Tigers Woods, fourth-ranked Justin Thomas, fifth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, sixth-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain and ninth-ranked Rory McIlroy didn’t even start the first round, which will continue on Friday morning.
Kang, who has won four times on the Korean Tour, holed out for an eagle from 35 yards on the 11th hole and had four birdies in his 14 holes, while Spieth (pictured) collected five birdies in his bogey-free 12 holes.
“I certainly got some good breaks,” said Spieth, who chipped in for birdies on the second and 12th holes in addition to making birdies on all three par-5 holes at Riviera.
“My score doesn’t reflect how I’ve played. It’s certainly better than the way I struck the ball. That’s what happens when you get a couple chip-ins – you score well. Just want to cap it off tomorrow.”
Patrick Rodgers of Stanford was a bogey-free 4-under through 13 holes and in a tie for third with Jimmy Walker, who had four birdies in his first eight holes, while Tony Finau was 3-under through 12 and in a tie for fifth with J.T. Poston, who birdied the first two holes and had played nine when he end came.
Marc Leishman of Australia was 2-under through 10 holes and in a big tie for seventh with Bill Haas (nine holes), Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain (nine), Michael Thompson (eight), Alex Cejka of Germany (eight), Kramer Hickok (eight), Kyle Jones (seven) and Tae Hee Lee of South Korea (seven).
Defending champion Bubba Watson, bidding for his fourth victory at Riviera, was tied for 34th after 11 holes at even par, while two-time champion Phil Mickelson (12 holes) and seventh-ranked Xander Schauffele (11) are tied for 42nd at 1-over, and third-ranked Dustin Johnson, who won at Riviera in 2017, is 2-over after 13 holes and in a tie for 57th.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/competition/2019/genesis-open/leaderboard.html
