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Genesis Invitational: Adam Scott hunting a 3rd Riviera title after 2nd-round 63

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Genesis Invitational: Adam Scott hunting a 3rd Riviera title after 2nd-round 63

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Jacob Bridgeman makes a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

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PACIFIC PALISADES — During his PGA Tour career, Adam Scott has had a career-long love affair with Riviera Country Club. Over 16 starts at the Genesis Invitational, Scott is the tournament’s all-time leading money winner, having posted nine top-20 finishes, seven top-10 finishes and two victories.

So, it’s no surprise that after two rounds of this week’s 2026 Genesis Invitational, the Australian is tied for fourth with Xander Schauffele at 9-under-par 133, three shots behind 36-hole co-leaders Marco Penge and Jacob Bridgeman.

Sandwiched between Scott and the leaders is Rory McIlroy, who posted a bogey-free, 6-under 65, leaving him at 11 under and one shot off the lead. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler needed some late-round heroics to make the cut. Scheffler, who had to make two birdies Friday morning to complete the rain-delayed first round for a 74, then made four birdies on the last 10 holes and a 5-foot par putt on 18 in the second round to finish on the cut line at even par.

Scott’s phenomenal 8-under 63 on Friday included two eagles and five birdies and is the lowest round posted through 36 holes. His lone hiccup was a bogey on 18, but despite that frustration Scott was thrilled with his play.

He was asked where Friday’s round ranked among all the rounds he has played at Riviera over the course of his career.

“I have a slight sour taste after coming off the last there (at 18), but it’s probably my best,” Scott said. “I mean, I actually couldn’t really believe it through 13, I think I was 9 (under). I don’t even imagine that going out there. I think it was the year I won recently that I shot, I think it was on Thursday, I shot 7 (under) in the morning. It was a drier week, maybe more challenging, but there’s always a challenge.”

Coming off 2025, a season when Scott had no top-10 finishes and just five top-25 finishes, he is glad to be back at a golf course that provides such great memories and positive feelings when he steps to the tee box. Making his start even more gratifying is the fact that he is only in the field this week because of a sponsor’s exemption.

“It’s awesome. I’m lucky to be here this week on an invite,” Scott said. “It’s my favorite stop on Tour of the year, so I’m wanting to make the most of it. I’ve been feeling like I’ve had a lot of good golf since last summer and got absolutely no results thanks to like average putting. So nice to see myself kind of up on the first page of a leaderboard, and hopefully I can play a couple more good rounds and be in the hunt here. It would be pretty awesome to get a victory here again.”

After The Farmers Open in La Jolla, Scott said he did some work in the putting lab in search of some answers to the putting woes he felt have been holding him back from contending. The extra work resulted in Scott bringing two new putters to Riviera this week.

“After having like three or four good years of putting out here, last year was really slow,” he said. “It wasn’t necessarily anything I could really put a finger on or I would have tried to fix it sooner. It’s just a lot of putts weren’t going in. So I’ve been working on that the last few weeks. I made a slight tweak to some putters. I’ve putted with two different putters this week, and today worked well so I’ll stick with this one for now. “

Bridgeman’s name being near the top of the leaderboard has been a common occurrence during the 2026 West Coast Swing. Bridgeman came into this week’s tournament on the heels of four straight Top-20 finishes, including a fourth-place showing at the Sony Open and finishing eighth last week at Pebble Beach.

For the second straight day, Bridgeman eagled the par-5 first hole to get his round off to a quick start. That helped him fire a 7-under 64 to climb into a tie for the lead.

“I putted it really well and I hit my driver great,” Bridgeman said. “The driver was a little struggle the last couple weeks, but I drove it nicely (today), and then the putter worked out for me.”

Bridgeman’s strong play over the last month has given him a chance to get comfortable being in contention on the weekend on the PGA Tour. While he has yet to win, the former Clemson star’s strong play has given him the confidence to believe that it’s not a question of whether he can win but just when he will.

“I’ve learned that I’m comfortable in contention,” Bridgeman said. “I got a couple chances to win last year, especially like at Tampa I was kind of leading the whole way and I feel like I feel comfortable in that position. Last weekend didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to go, but I was very confident and comfortable in the position I was in. At some point, I’ll break through and get a win.”

Unlike Bridgeman, McIlroy knows all about what it takes to win a PGA Tour event. After an up-and-down performance last week at Pebble Beach, McIlroy is pleased with how he has performed over the first two rounds.

“Making one bogey through the first 36 holes compared to the big numbers I had last week is good,” McIlroy said. “I felt like I held the round together really nicely. When we sort of turned back into the wind there 12 through 16, I made a couple of really good par saves. And I took advantage of the par-5s on the back nine. The back nine’s playing a little bit more difficult so overall obviously really pleased with the day and excited for the weekend.”

Historically, those who play well at Augusta National have also tended to play well at Riviera. While McIlroy has never won at Riviera, the 2025 Masters champion does feel the two courses share some similar attributes.

“It’s probably a little similar off the tee,” the five-time major winner said. “There’s some tough driving holes, but then there are some that are a little more generous like Augusta. But it’s the second shots. It’s controlling your spin and your trajectory. And then the green complexes, they’re not as – maybe not as severe as Augusta, like the slopes, but they’re just as tricky so I think that’s part of the reason.”

With warmer temperatures expected in the next two days, Scott is looking forward to the weekend of competition.

“I think it’s going to be an incredible atmosphere,” Scott said. “The leaderboard’s jammed up the top with great names. It’s going to be fantastic.”

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