Scottie Scheffler’s 18-Event Top-10 Streak Ends at Riviera as ‘Weird Relationship’ Persists
World No. 1 scottie Scheffler’s remarkable run of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes came to an end at The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, where a late surge fell short and left the reigning streak-holder in a tie for 12th. The finish matters because it snapped the longest streak in the modern statistical era and did so on a course that has repeatedly confounded all-time greats.
Scottie Scheffler's final-round surge and the inch that mattered
Scheffler closed with a 6-under 65 on Sunday, posting a back-nine 31 and converting six birdies in his last 12 holes after an even-par start through seven. He hit a 184-yard approach out of a bunker to 11 feet and birdied No. 15, and he sank an 8-foot birdie on No. 17 and a 30-foot birdie on No. 13 during the charge. The climb, however, ultimately hinged on a 21-foot putt on the 18th green that stopped an inch in front of the hole; had it dropped, Scheffler would have reached the top 10 and extended his streak.
Riviera Country Club’s history and course traits
The George C. Thomas design in Pacific Palisades has hosted U. S. Opens and PGA Championships and, since 1973, the PGA Tour’s LA Open, now staged as the Genesis Invitational. Riviera’s Poa annua greens, small targets and demand for spin and trajectory control draw comparisons to Augusta National, creating conditions that have both produced legends and flummoxed others.
Woods, Nicklaus and McIlroy: Riviera’s unwilling converts
The course has been a paradox for many of golf’s all-time best. Masters greats and major champions — Hogan, Snead, Watson, Nelson, Mickelson, Couples, Faldo, Ernie Els and Adam Scott — appear on Riviera’s roll of honor, yet Jack Nicklaus finished runner-up twice without a title there. Tiger Woods made his PGA Tour debut at Riviera as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992, and across 15 starts he has made 10 cuts but only three top-10s, including a runner-up to Ernie Els in 1999. McIlroy’s T2 is his best showing in Pacific Palisades. Players and peers have struggled to explain the pattern: “It makes absolutely no sense, ” Max Homa said in 2023 of Woods’ lack of a win here, and Adam Scott noted that the course asks for elite iron play even of the best ball-strikers.
How Scheffler’s week unfolded and what pushed him to the brink
Scheffler arrived at Riviera carrying a checkered history at the venue: he missed the match-play cut at the 2017 U. S. Amateur and missed the cut as an amateur at the 2018 Genesis Open, and as a professional he entered the week with four top-20s at Riviera but had never finished within six shots of the lead. The damage to the streak began quickly: he recorded the worst start of his professional career, going 5-over through 10 holes when play was suspended on Thursday. He made a few early birdies on Friday to complete a first 18 of 3-over.
That standing put him four over through 26 holes and in danger of missing the 36-hole cut, but Scheffler held on, holing a par putt on 18 on Friday and remarking, “I don’t know, this place and I have like a weird relationship. ” He said morning tee times and less chewed-up greens helped his recovery, which included a 3-under 68 in the second round and a 66 on Saturday that kept the streak alive into Sunday.
Sunday drama: Fleetwood, Young and Bridgeman rewrite the leaderboard
Scheffler’s late climb briefly looked like it would preserve the streak, but two dramatic moves from other players rearranged the board. Tommy Fleetwood holed an eagle from 173 yards on No. 15 to surge past Scheffler, and Cameron Young birdied his final three holes to move ahead as well. Meanwhile Jacob Bridgeman, the 26-year-old who began Sunday with a six-shot lead that at one point reached seven, hung on for a one-shot victory.
Streak significance and what comes next
With the T-12 finish, Scheffler’s run stopped at 18 consecutive top-10s, the longest since the tour began keeping official stats in 1983; Tiger Woods’ best streak never exceeded 11. The end also halted an even rarer run of eight straight top-four finishes. Scheffler said afterward, “I’ve never been one to quit, ” and characterized competing at Riviera as part of what he loves about the game. His next start is expected in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, followed immediately by THE PLAYERS Championship — events he has each won twice.
What makes this notable is that the streak ended not in a single bad round but in a week that combined a historic early collapse, a resilient recovery and spectacular late moves by rivals on a venue known for defying expectations.
