Field Level Media
20 Feb 2026, 07:49 GMT+10
(Photo credit: Allison Lawhon-Imagn Images)
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Aaron Rai of England held a one-shot lead at the Genesis Invitational on Thursday at Riviera Country Club despite being unable to complete his round during a rainy and windy day.
Rai was at 6 under par through 16 holes before the rain-delayed opening round was halted by darkness. He can still pad his opening-round advantage Friday morning when play resumes at 7 a.m. local time.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under-par 66 and was tied with Jacob Bridgeman for second place. Ryan Fox of New Zealand was alone in fourth place at 4 under as the tournament, hosted by Tiger Woods, returned to the Los Angeles area.
The signature event was relocated south to Torrey Pines last year following a devastating wildfire in Pacific Palisades in January 2025.
A morning rain shower delayed play three hours, with many in the field unable to finish their opening rounds. Windy conditions proved to be a challenge the remainder of the day.
McIlroy, a 29-time winner on the PGA Tour, opened his round at 3 under through four holes before the rain delay. He moved to 5 under with a birdie at No. 11, lost a shot with a bogey at No. 16 and moved back to 5 under with a birdie at the par-5 17th.
'I've started to just really enjoy this style of golf,' McIlroy said about the wet, windy and cool conditions. 'If you had asked me 10 years ago, I didn't enjoy these conditions, but it's been a shift in mindset and maybe just a continuation of trying to build upon the skill set that I have. Then when it does get to conditions like this, I'm a lot more prepared.'
Bridgeman, who is in his third season on the PGA Tour without a victory, had an erratic start to his round with an eagle 3 at No. 1 and a double bogey at the long par-3 fourth hole. He then went 5 under through a stretch of 10 holes starting at No. 8.
'I've never really had any success on the West Coast in my career, but I think I'm starting to understand more of how to play out here and be a little more confident with it,' said Bridgeman, a South Carolina native. 'We never played out here in college, I never played in junior golf out here. So really my (first time) coming out for the West Coast was as a pro. I'm starting to get a little more comfortable.'
Collin Morikawa, a Los Angeles-area native who won last week at Pebble Beach, opened in a seven-way tie for fifth place at 3 under.
'Nice to get off to a good start and kind of be around the lead,' Morikawa said. 'This course is going to play very different, I think, the next three days, not quite with the softness and speed of the greens but just score-ability with the wind being down.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled in the opening round for the third consecutive week and was at 5 over par through 10 holes.
Defending champion Ludvig Aberg of Sweden opened tied for 44th place at 1 over par, while Japan's Hideki Matsuyama was tied for 12th place at 2 under. Matsuyama won the tournament the last time it was played at Riviera in 2024.
--Field Level Media
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