Genesis Invitational: Rory McIlroy chases Marco Penge as Jacob Bridgeman joins the lead at Riviera

Who feels the pressure first? At the Riviera Country Club the immediate impact of a sudden leaderboard shake-up is financial, emotional and strategic for contenders and fans alike. jacob bridgeman now owns a share of the 36-hole lead following a 64, and that changes how Rory McIlroy — one shot adrift — will approach the weekend at the Genesis Invitational.

Leaders reshape the weekend and who they force to react

Marco Penge and Jacob Bridgeman sit at the top at 12 under after two rounds, with McIlroy at 11 under. That one-shot gap alters tee-time matchups, putter confidence and the margin for error on Riviera’s finishing holes — particularly for players trying to move up from the early positions on the board. The presence of two 64s at the top means those chasing will likely need low scores to keep pace.

Jacob Bridgeman joins Penge at the top

Bridgeman, of the United States, carded a 64 to move level with England’s Marco Penge at 12 under. jacob bridgeman’s push to the lead came alongside Penge’s own surge: Penge produced five birdies across his final seven holes to post a seven-under-par 64 and reach 12 under overall in Los Angeles. Penge, 27, also revealed a recent family development — he has moved to Florida and is expecting a second child next week; his wife has been heavily pregnant in the US while caring for their one-and-a-half-year-old without family nearby, a situation he described as a difficult gamble while he competes.

Weather pause, resumption and an odd 27-hole Friday for some

Play was suspended on Thursday morning at 10: 13 a. m. local time after a large band of persistent rain hit The Riviera Country Club; players had initially continued through the rain for more than an hour. The first round later resumed at 1: 09 p. m. local time after almost three hours off. Maintenance crews were out on several greens, squeegeeing them to aid playability. At the moment of suspension Akshay Bhatia was leading, 3-under through six holes. The official forecast for the day called for the heaviest rain between 10 a. m. and noon (local), stronger winds after noon with gusts up to 34 mph, temperatures rising from the 40s in the morning to the middle 50s by afternoon, and roughly a half inch of total rainfall. Penge’s day ended up including 27 holes on Friday because he had to complete nine delayed holes from round one before starting his second round.

Round-two performers and a snapshot of the leaderboard

• -12: M Penge (Eng), J Bridgeman (US)
• -11: R McIlroy (NI)
• -9: A Scott (Aus), X Schauffele (US)
• -8: MW Lee (Aus), P Greyserman (US)
• -7: T Fleetwood (Eng), W Clark (US)
• Also listed: K Kitayama (US), M Fitzpatrick (Eng)

Selected others: -6 A Rai (Eng); -5 J Speith (US); -2 R Fowler (US); level R MacIntyre (Sco), S Scheffler (US); +1 S Lowry (Ire); (missed cut) +3 J Rose (Eng).

Cuts, clutch moments and other late action

World number one Scottie Scheffler made a seven-foot par putt at the 18th to make the cut at level par; he later said getting out on fresh greens and holing putts was key to reaching the weekend. Rory McIlroy, who finished joint 14th at Pebble Beach last week, carded a six-under-par 65 to move to 11 under and noted that Riviera’s lack of a nearby ocean helped keep errant balls in play; he also said he hit some loose shots but controlled distance and holed short putts for pars when needed. When play was suspended earlier in the week, maintenance crews were actively squeegeeing several greens to keep them playable.

• Akshay Bhatia was 3-under through six holes when play halted.

What’s easy to miss is how many moving parts — family situations, weather, late restarts — have combined to reshape who arrives at Saturday in form and who is managing fatigue before the weekend.

One site displayed a browser-not-supported message and urged readers to update their browser for the best experience, noting the site was built to use the latest web technology; readers were asked to download a supported browser.

Here’s the part that matters for contenders: with two 64s at the top and McIlroy a single shot back, small edges on the greens and strong late Holes performance will be decisive on Saturday and Sunday. The real question now is who can convert front-nine momentum into a clean, low back nine at Riviera.

• Low scores by Penge and Bridgeman force aggressive strategies from players a stroke or two behind.
• Weather interruptions created uneven hole counts and extra wear for some players, notably Penge’s 27-hole Friday.
• Short putting (inside eight feet) has proven decisive for players preserving pars and making the cut.
• Conditions forecasted—gusty winds after noon and cooler morning temperatures—could favor strong tee-to-green play if they materialize.