Cantlay leads at Riviera
Woods withdraws in middle of second round with illness
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 fiveshot lead at the Genesis Invitational going into a weekend that won’t include Tiger 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.
“Not physical at all. His back’s fine,” said Rob Mcnamara, a longtime association and vice president of TGR Ventures. “It was all medical illness, dehydration, which now the symptoms are reversing themselves now that he’s had an IV.”
Woods was driven away in a red SUV about the time Cantlay was running away from the field.
Cantlay has been making just about everything and giving himself loads of chances. He 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.
“Putting great and leaving the golf ball in the right spot, which is really key around here,” Cantlay said, who leads the field in the key putting statistic. “It’s a golf course I’m really comfortable on and it’s in the best shape I’ve ever seen it.
He was at 13-under 129, giving him a five-shot lead over Jason Day (69), Luke List (69) and Mackenzie
Hughes (65).
Woods wasn’t the only surprising departure. Jordan Spieth, who played with Cantlay, had a rough finish that left him 10 shots behind, only to sign an incorrect scorecard and get disqualified.
That left Riviera with a 51-man field for the weekend. This signature event has a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties and anyone within 10 shots — the latter wasn’t an issue because of Cantlay. The cut came at 1-over 143, eliminating Pebble Beach winner Wyndham Clark and Justin Thomas.