Scottie Scheffler’s 18-Event Top-10 Streak Ends in Turbulent Week at Riviera
scottie Scheffler saw his run of 18 straight top-10 finishes come to an end at The Genesis Invitational, a week that highlighted what he called "a weird relationship" with Riviera Country Club.
Scottie’s surge came up short at Riviera
Scheffler closed with a 6-under 65 on Sunday at The Genesis Invitational to climb the leaderboard but finish tied for 12th, ending an 18-event run of top-10s and snapping a streak of eight straight top-four finishes. His final round began even-par through seven holes before he made six birdies over his last 12, and he nearly forced another top-10 finish — a 21-foot birdie attempt on the 18th stopped an inch short of the cup. He also sank an 8-foot birdie on No. 17 and a 30-foot birdie on No. 13, and he hit a 184-yard approach from a bunker to 11 feet to birdie No. 15 during the week.
A course that has baffled legends
Riviera Country Club, a George C. Thomas design that has hosted U. S. Opens and PGA Championships and has been the site of the PGA Tour’s LA Open (now the Genesis Invitational) since 1973, has a long list of champions — Hogan, Snead, Watson, Nelson, Mickelson, Couples, Faldo, Ernie Els and Adam Scott among them. Still, the course has frustrated several all-time greats: Jack Nicklaus never won there despite two runner-up finishes, and Rory McIlroy’s T2 is his best finish in Pacific Palisades. Tiger Woods has made 15 starts at Riviera, including his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992, and has made 10 cuts but just three top-10s, including a runner-up finish to Ernie Els in 1999. The venue’s bumpier Poa annua greens and the demand to control spin and trajectory on small, tricky greens — a quality sometimes compared with Augusta National — have produced bafflement; Max Homa said in 2023, "It makes absolutely no sense, " and Adam Scott called Woods’ Riviera record "a little bit inexplicable. " Woods himself said in 2024 that Riviera has been "frustrating" despite being a course that suits a fader and a strong iron player.
How Scheffler’s week unfolded: early trouble, late charge
Scheffler arrived at Riviera with a checkered history: he missed the match-play cut at the 2017 U. S. Amateur and missed the cut as an amateur at the Genesis Open in 2018, and as a pro he entered the week with four top-20s at Riviera but had never finished within six shots of the lead. The week at Riviera echoed recent starts — Scheffler had struggled early at the WM Phoenix Open and the Pebble Beach Pro-Am — and he opened with a 3-over 74 that left him walking the cutline until he holed a par putt on the 18th on Friday to make the weekend. His first round featured the worst start of his career when he was 5-over through 10 holes as play was suspended on Thursday; he then made a few birdies in the wee hours of Friday to finish the day 3 over for his first 18. He followed with a 3-under 68 in round two and a 66 on Saturday, saying he benefitted from morning tee times and less chewed-up greens and repeating, "This place and I have like a weird relationship. "
Who passed him late and how the streak fell
Scheffler’s surge on Sunday met pushes from several players: Jacob Bridgeman began the day with a six-shot lead that grew to seven before he hung on for a one-shot victory, while Tommy Fleetwood vaulted past Scheffler with an eagle hole-out from 173 yards on No. 15 and Cameron Young moved ahead by birdieing his final three holes. Scheffler had rallied after being four over through 26 holes and in danger of missing the 36-hole cut, but those late moves left him in a tie for 12th and ended his streak at 18. The run is the longest since the tour began keeping official stats in 1983 and was called the longest in the modern era.
What’s next for Scheffler
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. Those scheduled starts are the next confirmed items on his calendar.
