Max Homa fires 68 for 1-shot lead in Genesis Invitational

18.02.2023 - 06:37 espn.com

LOS ANGELES — Max Homa in the lead at his hometown PGA Tour event used to give him chills. Now he's playing so well it almost feels normal.

Homa, a winner last month down the coast at Torrey Pines, ran off three birdies around the turn at Riviera and tossed in a few big par saves Friday for a 3-under 68, giving him a one-shot lead over Jon Rahm, Keith Mitchell and Lee Hodges at the Genesis Invitational.

Homa hit wedge to 4 feet to a pin tucked behind the bunker for a birdie on No. 9, holed a 15-foot birdie on the 10th and then chipped beautifully to a back right pin for a third straight birdie on the par-5 11th.

He also saved par from a plugged lie in the bunker and made an 18-foot par putt on the 16th. His round ended with trouble off the tee that led to bogey, but he had no complaints at 11-under 131 and his name atop the leaderboard.

golf genesis 1 Jon Rahm Genesis Invitational Max Homa Los Angeles county Lee county Keith Mitchell

LOS ANGELES — As the Southern California sky slowly fades to black on Friday night, Marcus Byrd paces back and forth just outside the players' locker room at the Riviera Country Club. At 6 over after 34 holes, Byrd is going to miss the cut at the Genesis Invitational, where he received the tournament's Charlie Sifford exemption from Tiger Woods, but he can't leave. The second round was suspended because of darkness, and now the logistics of a return to the course Saturday morning to play two remaining holes before then heading off to Florida for his next tournament await the 25-year-old.

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Spain's Rahm grabbed his third US PGA Tour title of 2023 after wins at the Tournament of Champions and the American Express in La Quinta, California.It was his fifth win in his last nine worldwide starts, a run that included his third Spanish Open triumph in October and victory in the DP World Tour Championship in November.Rahm was thrilled to capture a win at Riviera Country Club, the classic course west of downtown Los Angeles that has produced such champions as Ben Hogan but where, Rahm noted, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have never won.

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Jon Rahm close to taking number one ranking with lead in California

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