Davis Thompson birdied his final hole to finish off a 6-under-par 66 and take a one-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler at the halfway mark of the Genesis Invitational on Friday in San Diego.
At 8 and 7 under, respectively, Thompson and Scheffler will comprise the final pairing on Saturday at Torrey Pines Golf Course at the third signature event of the season.
The Genesis is being played at Torrey Pines rather than Los Angeles’ Riviera Country Club because of last month’s wildfires that caused extensive damage to the Los Angeles area.
Thompson, a 25-year-old who picked up his first PGA Tour win last year, had six birdies through 13 holes before suffering a bogey-bogey stretch at Nos. 14 and 15. He rebounded with a nearly 27-foot birdie putt at the par-3 16th, and at the par-5 18th, he pitched his third shot to within a foot of the pin to set up the go-ahead birdie.
World No. 1 Scheffler, who improved on his first round by three with a 67, had a bogey-free round highlighted by an eagle hole-out from the greenside bunker at the par-5 sixth, his 15th hole of the day.
First-round leader Denny McCarthy (second-round 70) is still in the mix in third pace at 6 under par. Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy, who won the most recent signature event at Pebble Beach, is alone in fourth at 5 under after a 67.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg is also in contention after shooting a 66, tying Thompson for low round of the day, to move into a tie at 4 under with Patrick Rodgers (71).
Only 54 players in the 72-man field will make the projected cut line of 4 over. Notable names who won’t be around for the weekend include Englishman Justin Rose (5 over), Viktor Hovland of Norway (5 over), Jordan Spieth (6 over), Max Homa (7 over) and Austria’s Sepp Straka (10 over), who has already won once on tour this year.
–Field Level Media
