Homa at ease at Riviera, in front by shot

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. He already has won twice this season, including last month down the coast at Torrey Pines. When he won this tournament two years ago — the one he used to attend as a kid who grew up 30 miles away — he said, “I don’t know if I could ever do anything cooler in golf than this.” Playing good every week is pretty cool. Rahm is playing even better. He has nine consecutive top 10s dating to September, four of those victories, and he is close to returning to No. 1 in the world. Even the best need a break every now and then, and Rahm got a big one Friday evening. He went with a 5-wood from 270 yards on the par-5 17th and cooked it, sailing the green toward the back grandstands. The ball smacked off the base of the bleachers, tumbled along the edge of a bunker and settled just over 3 feet away for an eagle. Mitchell played in the morning, making five birdies to offset a few mistakes.