Genesis: Patrick Cantlay leads the field after third round
Patrick Cantlay chips onto the 18th green at the Riviera Country Club in round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Cantlay is the current leader of the tournament at -14 under par. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Fans surround the 18th green at the Riviera Country Club as Jason Day finishes round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Harris English tees off on the 14th hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Mackenzie Hughes hits around sand traps on the fairway on the seventh hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Luke List tees off on the second hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay watches his putt on the third hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay tees off on the fifth hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Fans watch the tee shot of Patrick Cantlay on the sixth hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay hits from the fairway on the third hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Luke List hits from the fairway on the third hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Harris English checks his scorecard on the 14th hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Luke List hits from the fairway on the second hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay and Luke List line up their putts on the ninth hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay hits from the fairway on the fifth hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Luke List hits from the fairway on the third hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay lines up his putt on the third hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Tom Hoge tees off on the second hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Luke List hits from the fairway on the third hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Corey Conners putts on the first hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Corey Conners tees off on the second hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay tees off on the second hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Jason Day tees off on the second hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Mackenzie Hughes chips onto the first hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Patrick Cantlay chips onto the first green during the third round of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Scottie Scheffler chips out of the sand on the first hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Guests head out the back doors at the Riviera Country Club for Day 3 of the Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Friday’s round was full of drama as Tiger Woods withdrew on the 7th hole due to an illness, and Jordan Spieth was disqualified for signing and incorrect score card. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Will Zalantoris lines up his putt on the first hole during round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
PACIFIC PALISADES — Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele have played countless practice rounds together on the PGA Tour and been partners on President’s Cup and Ryder Cup teams, but only twice have the two best friends gone head to head in the final group on Sunday with the tournament on the line.
The first time it happened Cantlay bested Schauffele to win the 2021 BMW Championship. The following year Schauffele got the best of his friend to win the 2022 Travelers Championship.
The tie could be broken in Sunday’s final round of the 2024 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club as Cantlay and Schauffele will be in the final group with the tournament title up for grabs.
Following his third round 1-under 70, Cantlay is 14 under overall, leaving him just two-shots ahead of Schauffele and Will Zalatoris, who both posted rounds of 6-under 65 on Saturday to significantly cut into Cantlay’s lead. Luke List, who was paired with Cantlay Saturday, is three shots behind following a round of 3-under 68. Jason Day and Harris English, who also shot 65 on Saturday, are four back of Cantlay with a three-round total of 10 under.
“It’s a pretty comfortable pairing for us,” Schauffele said. “We play a lot week in and week out and we both love to compete. There’s nothing more than we like to do is compete in big events. We’ve done it a few times in the past and taken shots at each other. It’s something we talk about and something we want to keep doing.”
Cantlay also said getting a chance to go head-to-head in the final round is something he looks forward to.
“We play most practice rounds together, and we play a lot at home so it won’t be anything out of the usual,” Cantlay said. “By now we’ve played so many matches together that it just feels kind of normal.”
After an opening round 1-under 70, Schauffele has hit his stride over the last two rounds, posting scores of 66-65 that allowed him to vault up the leaderboard and into contention.
The former San Diego State standout got his third round off to a flying start by making an eagle on the par-5, first hole. Knowing that the overcast skies had softened Riviera’s lightning-fast greens. Schauffele felt confident firing at flags, which gave him multiple good looks at making birdie. On holes six, seven and eight, Schauffele had birdie putts burn the edges of the cup. While the missed opportunities were a bit frustrating, they also gave Schauffele confidence that he had a chance to go low.
Back-to-back birdies to start his back nine increased that belief. Two more birdies on 16 and 17 pushed Schauffele into second place and assured him of being in the final group on Sunday.
“To play good golf around Riviera you’ve got to sort of fire on all cylinders and been able to do that the last couple days,” Schauffele said. “I started to hit the driver better yesterday and today felt pretty good. I hit some really nice shots into those par 5s, as well as where you have to sort of capitalize, including 10. It’s a course where if one thing goes a bit off to the sides, you’ve got to rely on other parts of your game to get up and down. Today when we were out of position, we did a really good job of putting it back to a place where you can get up and down from.”
Zalatoris is equally excited to be in the mix at the course he calls his favorite stop on the PGA Tour. Just nine months ago Zalatoris was forced to withdraw from the 2023 Masters because of a herniated disc in his back that led him to have a microdiscectomy a few days after withdrawing.
He spent approximately seven months rehabbing his back and going through the process of changing his swing to take pressure off his back in order to resume his career. He returned to action at the Sony Open in January and his results have gotten progressively better, including tying for 13th at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Part of his new swing involves using a longer putter, which puts less stress on his back and has also helped improve his putting which had been a part of the game he struggled with even before the surgery.
“Even though I’ve had some pretty good rounds and some nice stretches this week, there’s still pretty big changes,” Zalatoris said. “I used to time things up with my hands really well throughout the golf swing, but it wasn’t really that great on my back. Now I’m swinging more horizontal. I feel really good physically, but like I said, it’s just going to take a little bit of time to get used to it. I think being in contention is — that’s how you find out where you’re at.”
Patrick Cantlay cards a 64 for 1-stroke lead at Genesis Invitational
Like everyone in the field not named Cantlay, Zalatoris started Saturday with one simple thought, to go as low as he could go and see where he stood after the round. While he will start the final round five shots closer to the lead than he was at the start of Saturday’s round, Zalatoris said his game plan remains the same.
“Just keep doing what we’re doing,” Zalatoris said. “Pat’s playing some really good golf. But the greens are the fastest I’ve ever seen them and the course still has some teeth to it. You can’t really fake it around this place. I got away with a couple of really bad tee shots today and ended up making a few birdies and a few really nice pars out of it. I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing. Whatever it adds up to, it is what it is.”
While Cantlay was unable to produce on the kind of magic on Saturday that he had in the first two rounds, the former UCLA Bruin played steady golf and stayed away from any major mistakes.
“I played solid golf today, but I didn’t make any long putts or anything,” Cantlay said. “I didn’t really give myself too many chances, but all in all a solid day and in good position for tomorrow.”