Jordan Spieth follows Tiger Woods out the door at Genesis
Tiger Woods withdraws from the Genesis Invitational due to illness, while Jordan Spieth is disqualified for signing the wrong scorecard.
Jordan Spieth was disqualified from the Genesis Invitational for signing the wrong score on his card, marking his first disqualification in 263 PGA tournaments. Spieth was within three shots of the lead at the turn in the second round at Riviera until he dropped three shots as Patrick Cantlay, playing in his group, began to pull away. He made double bogey on the 18th hole for a 73, leaving him 10 shots behind. But he signed for a 3 on the par-3 fourth hole when he actually made a 4, leading to the disqualification. Despite the unfortunate turn of events, Spieth took full responsibility and expressed his love for the tournament and golf course. This left 51 players in the field for the weekend at Riviera. The signature event had a 36-hole cut to top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead.
Patrick Cantlay began with an eagle and never let anyone close to him the rest of the round Friday. He shot a 6-under 65 to build a five-shot lead at the Genesis Invitational going into a weekend that won't include Woods. Woods made another early exit, this one because of flu symptoms instead of his injured body. He withdrew after six holes and spent the next two hours getting intravenous fluids before leaving Riviera, along with a big chunk of the gallery. Cantlay knows Riviera as well as any PGA Tour course, having gone to UCLA. He probably has played this course some 70 times in college and as a pro.
Cantlay was at 13-under 129, giving him a five-shot lead over Jason Day (69), Luke List (69), and Mackenzie Hughes (65). The cut came at 1-over 143, eliminating Pebble Beach winner Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas. Now it's a matter of trying to catch Cantlay, who can't find much he doesn't like this week. The big excitement belonged to Will Zalatoris, who had a 70 that only looked ordinary on the scorecard. Zalatoris had five bogeys and four birdies, along with a hole-in-one on the 14th hole. This ace came with a car, not only for Zalatoris but for caddie Joel Stock. Corey Conners of Canada had a 65 and was in fifth place. Zalatoris was joined by Xander Schauffele (66) and Tom Hoge (70). Rory McIlroy had a 66 to take care of the first part, though that still leaves him eight shots behind Cantlay, who isn't doing much wrong.
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