Patrick Rodgers, Denny McCarthy pursue first PGA Tour win at Genesis Invitational
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Patrick Rodgers (left) shakes hands with Denny McCarthy after finishing their round on the 18th hole during the third round of the Genesis Invitational.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SAN DIEGO – While golfers with grander resumes struggled to keep pace, a pair of veteran non-winners moved to the top of the leaderboard on Feb 15 after the third round of the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines.
Despite a bogey on the par-five 18th hole when he put his third shot in the only water hazard on the course, Patrick Rodgers grabbed a one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy with a four-under 68.
Rodgers, who finished three rounds at eight-under 208, and fellow American McCarthy have combined for nearly 500 PGA Tour appearances without finishing better than second.
After 286 tour starts, Rodgers knows his reputation. The 32-year-old has been a runner-up four times, including twice in play-offs. This is the fifth time he has entered the final round of a stroke-play event with the lead.
“Whenever my name is mentioned, that’s the first thing that everybody says professionally, so it’s something that I have to deal with,” he said.
“I think I’ve struggled with it for a long time, but I feel like I’m viewing my career from a different vantage point now and I’m excited about the opportunity to cross that finish line tomorrow.”
McCarthy, who has two runner-up finishes in 193 starts, made four birdies in a five-hole stretch to get to nine under for the tournament after 10 holes, but dropped back to seven under after a 71.
He is not one of the longer hitters, which can be a disadvantage at Torrey Pines’ South Course, but he said he has worked to improve that part of his game.
“I’ve gotten longer and I’m long enough to definitely play well here,” the 31-year-old said.
“I’ve picked up some speed. I was letting it swing pretty freely today and I like how confident and committed I was on some of those tee shots.”
Meanwhile, the two players who began the day at the top of the leaderboard tied for the worst rounds of the day at four-over 76.
Davis Thompson, who had the lead, dropped into a four-way tie for fourth at four under, one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler, who made bogeys on both par-five holes on the front nine and a double bogey on the par-four 14th.
World No. 3 Rory McIlroy also struggled, finishing with a two-over 74 that left him five shots behind Rodgers.
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden is in third place at six under after a 70 that included the first hole-in-one of the tournament, and his career.
“It was a really cool moment,” he said. “I’ve never made a hole-in-one in tournament play before.”
In other golf news, former world No. 1 Tiger Woods is scheduled to return to action on Feb 18 in his TGL simulator league, his first competition since his mother’s death on Feb 4 at the age of 78.
TGL posted the team rosters for this week’s four matches on X on Feb 15, with Woods heading the Jupiter Links Golf Club line-up to face New York Golf Club at the SoFi Centre in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. REUTERS, AFP
