Scottie Scheffler’s incredible top-10 streak ends at The Genesis Invitational — scottie falls short
scottie Scheffler made a furious weekend charge at The Genesis Invitational but fell at least one shot short, shooting a 6-under 65 and finishing just outside the top 10. The result snapped a run of 18 straight top-10 finishes and an eight-event streak of top-four finishes.
First round collapse and recovery
The damage was done in the first round, when Scheffler got off to the worst start of his career — going 5-over through 10 holes when play was called for the day on Thursday. He made a few birdies in the wee hours of Friday to finish his opening 18 at 3 over, continuing recent puzzling first-round struggles. That early deficit set the stage for the weekend climb.
Weekend birdies and near misses
Scheffler shot 3-under 68 in the second round and followed that with a 66 on Saturday. His final round began slow, going even-par through seven holes, before he rattled off six birdies in his last 12 holes to reach 6-under for the day with a 65. Highlights included sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 13, hitting a 184-yard approach from a bunker to 11 feet to birdie No. 15, and sinking an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 17.
One inch decided the streak
Needing a birdie to get into the top 10, Scheffler’s 21-foot putt on the 18th stopped an inch in front of the hole. The difference between the streak continuing or ending ultimately came down to that single inch. He said, "I've never been one to quit, so it's not really – I mean, I'd feel pretty silly to quit in a PGA TOUR event. "
Riviera quirks and conditions
Riviera Country Club's Poa annua greens and breezy conditions played a role, with conditions described as difficult on Thursday when the wind kicked up and the greens got bumpier. Scheffler said, "This place and I have like a weird relationship. I feel like I can play so well out here and I just haven't yet. " He credited early tee times: "Overall, being out here and competing, that's what I love to do and, like I said, got to go out early yesterday on some fresh greens, get a little bit less wind. It's easier playing in the morning than it is late in the day. Took advantage of it. Then I had another solid day today. "
Riviera history and other greats
The George C. Thomas design has hosted U. S. Opens and PGA Championships and, since 1973, has been the site of the PGA Tour's LA Open, now the Genesis Invitational. A long list of greats have won at Riviera, including Hogan, Snead, Watson, Nelson, Mickelson, Couples, Faldo, Els and Scott. Yet Riviera has confounded some of the sport's legends. Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus famously never won at Riviera, while Rory McIlroy has also been stymied there: McIlroy’s T2 on Sunday was his best finish in Pacific Palisades.
Woods, Nicklaus, McIlroy and other notes
Woods has made 15 starts at Riviera, including his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992. He has made 10 cuts there but just three top 10s, including a runner-up finish to Ernie Els in 1999. Woods has said the course is comfortable visually and puzzling in results; a wider reaction included Max Homa saying, "It makes absolutely no sense, " about Woods' inability to win at Riviera, and Adam Scott calling it "a little bit inexplicable. " Nicklaus had two runner-up finishes at Riviera but never won.
Scheffler’s recent form and history
Scheffler arrived at Riviera riding a streak of 18 consecutive top 10s, which is now over, and a run of eight straight top-four finishes that also ended. As a pro he entered the week with four top-20s at Riviera but had never finished within six shots of the lead there. As an amateur he missed the match-play cut at the 2017 U. S. Amateur and missed the cut as an amateur at the 2018 Genesis Open. Earlier in the season he opened his last three tournaments with rounds of 73, 72 and 74, and he has shown a pattern of slow starts that he described as related to late tee times and challenging afternoon conditions.
Consistency and streaks
Despite the Riviera setback, Scheffler has shown remarkable consistency in recent years. He reached his 68th successive cut when he fist-pumped a seven-footer into the hole on the 36th to make the weekend; he hasn't missed a weekend since the 2022 FedEx St Jude Championship. Other metrics shared during coverage noted that in his last three starts he had been ten, ten and eleven strokes off the pace after 10 holes, and that at one point he was twelve shots behind on Friday. One commentary piece likened his late starts to Rory McIlroy's past "freaky" Fridays and noted Scheffler's delayed start to a prior season after a Christmas dinner incident, adding that one might wonder how the early part of 2025 would have gone had he been fully fit.
Scheffler’s next start is expected in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, followed immediately by THE PLAYERS Championship. He has won both events twice.
He finished the week with a 6-under 65 and a result described as "just outside the top 10, " and listings from the week also show him finishing in a tie for 12th.
