Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under 66 to tie Jacob Bridgeman for the lead after the first round of the 2026 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. The tournament, marking its 100th year, faced a three-hour rain delay before resuming. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled with a 4-over front nine, sitting near the bottom of the leaderboard.
The 2026 Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, began its first round on Thursday amid challenging weather. Heavy rain caused a suspension at 10:13 a.m. local time (1:13 p.m. ET), with water pooling on greens, leading to a nearly three-hour delay. Play resumed at 1 p.m. local (4 p.m. ET), allowing 33 golfers who had yet to start to tee off before sunset at 5:41 p.m. local.
Rory McIlroy carded a bogey-free front nine in 31, including birdies on the first three holes and the eighth, to take the solo lead temporarily. He reached 5 under with a birdie at No. 11, dropped a shot at the par-3 16th, and birdied the 17th before parring the 18th. "Obviously, we had that delay and, you know, the course after that was very, very wet," McIlroy said. "So, you know, having to control your trajectory, control your spin, and then especially in the wind, the wind definitely got up those last few holes, which made it a little tricky as well."
Jacob Bridgeman, a 26-year-old from South Carolina seeking his first PGA Tour win, matched the score with an eagle at No. 1, a double bogey at No. 4, and birdies on the back nine, including Nos. 10, 11, 16, and 17. Akshay Bhatia held the early lead at 3 under after birdieing three of his first four holes. Collin Morikawa, fresh off a win at Pebble Beach, sat at 3 under.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, made a 4-over 39 on the front nine with bogeys at Nos. 2 and 6 and a double at No. 8, tying for 69th in the 72-player field, nine shots off the lead. The event, the second signature tournament of the season with a $20 million purse and $4 million to the winner, returned to Riviera after the 2025 edition moved to Torrey Pines due to the Palisades Fire. The PGA Tour and Genesis donated $9 million to wildfire relief, with victims like Hilary Cannon noting the return brings hope: "I think every event that comes back is showing the community... that we're back. We're coming back."
The cut after 36 holes is top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Preferred lies were in effect due to wet conditions.