Genesis Invitational

Leader Joaquin Niemann shot his second straight eight-under 63 for a two-round score of 126 at the Genesis Invitational, shattering the previous 36-hole ...

I mean, I’m delighted with a seven under, and if I get to double digits, it would be super nice. Spieth’s second shot on No. 13 landed near a drainage ditch in some thick, soft grass to the side of the green, 88 feet from the pin. Spieth’s tee shot on No. 14, a 180-yard par three, found a greenside bunker, 88 feet from the pin. “It’s a course that’s difficult to keep going for four days. A nine-foot putt for birdie on No. 9 pushed him to 13 under before his only bogey of the day on No. 10 dropped him to 12 under. His short-game wizardry and recovery skills allowed him to save par on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes. I’ve had a putt or chip similar to that line and saw Cameron [Smith] right before me, so I had a pretty good idea what it was doing. The long putt was preceded by 336-yard drive off the tee and a 230-yard approach. That’s a good example of if you land that ball in the fairway, you get another 40, 50 yards of run. So if you’re hitting the fairway and landing in the fairway, the ball’s rolling quite a bit to where you can bring the short clubs in.” Just try to worry about my game, try to worry about my shots, and I think it should be all right.” Justin Thomas, ranked eighth in the World Golf Rankings, shot an afternoon round of 64 to move to within five strokes of Niemann at 11 under.

The top 10 players in the world started the week at Riviera Country Club. Only one won't play the weekend.

Patrick Reed assured that two members of the Cantlay-Koepka-Reed threesome would miss the weekend at Riviera. Reed shot 77 on Thursday, digging himself too deep a hole to get out of. Brennan shot a 66 in the Showcase on the first day he ever played Riviera Country Club. Watson tied for 14th at the WM Phoenix Open in his only other official start of the 2021-22 season. After a windy third round, he still led by two but fell short of victory as Max Homa won a playoff. Rahm buried a six-footer for par on 18 to make but he did see his streak of 34 consecutive rounds of par or better come to an end after shooting a 73. He did finish with four birdies on his last nine holes but it wasn’t enough.

Joaquin Niemann wins the Genesis and the $2.16 million first prize from a purse of $12 million.

T-39: Martin Laird, 280/-4, $45,000 T-39: Lee Hodges, 280/-4, $45,000 Here's the full breakdown of payouts for every player in the field: