Genesis Invitational: Rory McIlroy Hunts Leaders Marco Penge and Jacob Bridgeman After Rain-Delayed Start at Riviera

Rory McIlroy sits one shot behind leaders Marco Penge and jacob bridgeman at the halfway stage of the Genesis Invitational after a weather-affected opening rounds at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. The positions at the top matter because the leaderboard tightened following a second-round charge and a first-round suspension caused by heavy rain.

Jacob Bridgeman Joins Marco Penge Atop Leaderboard with 64

jacob bridgeman, of the United States, later joined England's Marco Penge atop the leaderboard by carding a 64. Both Penge and Bridgeman are listed at 12 under overall after two rounds, sharing the lead at the halfway point of the event.

Rory McIlroy One Shot Back After Second-Round 65

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy carded a six-under-par 65 in round two to move to 11 under. McIlroy, identified in the field as world number two, said the Riviera Country Club felt more forgiving than the venue where he had struggled to finish joint 14th last week. He noted that without the Pacific Ocean nearby there are fewer forced water hazards and that he had controlled distances and holed important short putts when needed.

Weather Halts Round One; Play Resumed at 1: 09 p. m. Local Time

The first round resumed at 1: 09 p. m. local time after play was suspended for almost three hours Thursday morning because of heavy rain. A large band of persistent rain hit the Riviera Country Club as play began; after players initially played on for more than an hour, the round was suspended at 10: 13 a. m. local time. Maintenance crews were seen squeegeeing several greens in the moments leading up to that suspension.

Orlando Pope, the senior director of TV Rules and video analysis on the tour, commented that there was too much water on the greens and that the event was "losing greens left and right. " An official forecast published Thursday predicted the heaviest rain between 10 a. m. and noon (local), winds that could gust to 34 mph after noon, temperatures in the 40s in the morning rising to the mid-50s by afternoon, and total rainfall around a half inch.

Akshay Bhatia led when play was suspended, sitting 3-under through six holes at that moment.

Course Insights: The Champion's Hole at The Riviera Country Club

Course-specific notes highlighted the Champion's Hole at The Riviera Country Club as a focal point for players managing the short-game test on the venue's greens. Schedule and setup adjustments during the day were driven by the heavy early rain and the subsequent recovery efforts on the greens.

Halfway Leaderboard and Selected Scores

The leaderboard at the midway stage reads as follows: -12 Marco Penge (Eng), Jacob Bridgeman (US); -11 Rory McIlroy (NI); -9 Adam Scott (Aus), Xander Schauffele (US); -8 Min Woo Lee (Aus), Peter Greyserman (US); -7 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Wyndham Clark (US). Additional names listed include Kevin Kitayama (US) and Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng).

Selected others: -6 Aaron Rai (Eng); -5 Jordan Spieth (US); -2 Rickie Fowler (US); level Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Scottie Scheffler (US); +1 Shane Lowry (Ire); and (missed cut) +3 Justin Rose (Eng).

Personal Notes and Weekend Movers

Marco Penge, 27, produced five birdies in his final seven holes to post what was described as a seven-under-par 64 and move to 12 under overall. He completed a 27-hole Friday in which he first had to finish nine holes from a weather-delayed round one before beginning his second round. Penge revealed that his wife is expecting the couple's second child next week and that the family has recently moved to Florida. He described the past four weeks as difficult for his family, noting his wife has been in the United States heavily pregnant while looking after a one-and-a-half-year-old without family or friends nearby, and that it felt like a gamble for him to go compete and leave her on her own.

World number one Scottie Scheffler made a seven-foot par putt at the 18th to make the cut at level par. Scheffler said it was nice to be out on fresh greens, to hole some putts, and to do what was needed to get to the weekend.

All scoring and scheduling remain subject to change as play continues and the tournament progresses.