Scottie Scheffler's Riviera questions persist as scottie streak ends
scottie Scheffler arrived at Riviera riding an 18-tournament top-10 streak that ultimately ended there, and his uneasy relationship with the Pacific Palisades layout continued to show. The World No. 1 battled back from a three-over opening round and a scare on the cut line to finish tied for 12th as another player sealed victory at the Genesis Invitational.
A cathedral of golf
The Riviera Country Club, a George C. Thomas design, is described as one of golf’s great cathedrals. It has hosted U. S. Opens and PGA Championships and, since 1973, has played host to the PGA Tour’s LA Open, now the Genesis Invitational. A long list of greats have triumphed at Riviera, including Hogan, Snead, Watson, Nelson, Mickelson, Couples, Faldo, Els and Scott.
Why Riviera puzzles champions
The course has stymied some of the game’s biggest names. Jack, Tiger and Rory have all been unable to get it over the line at Riviera. Observers point to the bumpy Poa annua greens and what some call Riviera voodoo. The layout has a well-documented correlation to Augusta National, asking players to control spin and trajectory while attacking small, tricky greens.
“It makes absolutely no sense, ” Max Homa said in 2023 about Tiger Woods being unable to win at Riviera. “It’s a second-shot golf course, and he’s the greatest iron player of all time. It truly makes no sense. ” Adam Scott added then: “He’s a really great iron player and you have to be a good iron player to play well here. That may just be an anomaly and the only one in his whole career maybe. It’s a little bit inexplicable. ”
Statistically, 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 but just three top 10s, including a runner-up finish to Ernie Els in 1999. Jack Nicklaus had two runner-up finishes at Riviera but never won, and Rory McIlroy’s T2 on Sunday was his best finish in Pacific Palisades.
Scottie Scheffler's Riviera record
Scottie Scheffler arrived with a checkered Riviera history. As an amateur 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. As a professional he entered the week with four top-20s at Riviera but had never finished within six shots of the lead.
He opened this week with a three-over 74 and found himself walking the cutline. After holing a par putt on 18 on Friday to make the cut he said: “I don’t know, 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 had produced slow starts earlier in the season at the WM Phoenix Open and the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he made runs at trophies before coming up just short.
Dramatic Sunday and the streak ending
The most dramatic movement on Sunday extended beyond the top of the leaderboard. Jacob Bridgeman began the day with a six-shot lead that grew to seven at one point; the 26-year-old hung on for a one-shot victory. For Scheffler, the week carried a different storyline: he entered the week having recorded 18 consecutive top-10s on tour.
Scheffler was four over through 26 holes and in danger of missing the 36-hole cut, but he rallied to stick around for the weekend. On Sunday he produced a furious back-nine charge, posting a back-nine 31 and a final-round 65, including a late birdie on 15. Even so, other late moves pushed him down the board: Tommy Fleetwood vaulted past Scheffler with an eagle hole out from 173 yards on No. 15, and Cameron Young birdied his final three holes to move past Scheffler.
Those events dropped Scheffler into a tie for 12th and ended his remarkable run at 18. That streak was the longest of its kind since the tour began keeping official stats in 1983; even Tiger Woods never managed more than 11 consecutive top-10s.
Reaction and perspective
After the round Scheffler said: “I mean 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. 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. ”
A tie for 12th at a signature event closed the week for Scheffler and left the Riviera question unresolved for him, even as Bridgeman secured a one-shot win and others such as Fleetwood and Young produced late, leaderboard-changing moments.
Closing: scottie Scheffler's streak ended at 18 when a late Sunday surge from rivals left him T-12; Jacob Bridgeman, 26, held on for a one-shot victory as Riviera continued to confound even the game’s best.
