How’s this for a first round storyline at the 100th hosting of the Genesis Inviational in California.
England’s Marco Penge, contesting the event for a first time since gaining his 2026 PGA Tour card, was the very last player to tee-up in the rain affected first round of the $20m event.
Last year’s three-time DP World Tour winner and Race-to-Dubai No. 2, had his scheduled tee-off delayed by a few minutes shy of three hours due to heavy late morning rain shutting down play until a rescheduled 2.41pm local time.
And then when poor light halted play at 5.41pm local time Penge was among some 40 players, including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who had not completed their rounds.
Penge could not have asked for a better start in eagling the first and moved to three-under with a birdie on three. He bogeyed five but then picked-up four birdies from the seventh to 13th and eventually finishing early Friday morning bogey, birdie and bogey for his super round of 66.
It had him officially sharing the lead with American Jacob Bridgeman, Rory McIlroy and fellow Englishman Aaron Rai.
While officially a rookie on the PGA Tour, it’s the first ocassion Penge has lead/co-lead after any round in 25 PGAS Tour rounds.
“It’s been a pretty tough start for me on the PGA Tour as I’ve not played that great but I want to be in contention as much as possible,” Penge said.
“That was my goal last year to be contention and be in position to win as much as I can.
“It going to be a little harder over here, playing different courses that I don’t know much about in playing for the first, and also playing against fifty to one hundred best players in the world week-in, week-out.
“Saying that, you need to be on your game consistently.
“I was fortunate enough to have breakfast with Justin Rose last week and I was kind of picking his brain a little bit and he was giving me some good advice which was nice.
“I think all the European guys … Shane Lowry and Rory … are all willing to help and support me, if I need that help. Which is strange in a kind of way as when I am with them, I kind of idolize them in a way.
“I kind of feel like a little kid inside when I am in their presence. So yeah, that is something I need to get used to and start to feel more comfortable with.
“It’s more from a sense of how successful they have been in the game. I just look-up to all of them”.
COMPLETED First-Round Notes – Friday, February 20, 2026
Weather: Thursday: Scattered showers and windy. High of 57. Wind SW 14-20 mph, with gusts to 34 mph. Preferred lies were in use for round one. Friday: Sunny. High of 57. Wind SW 6-12 mph.
Suspension summary: The first round was suspended due to inclement weather at 10:13 a.m. PT and resumed at 1:05 p.m. (delay of 2 hours, 52 minutes). Play was suspended due to darkness at 5:41 p.m. on Thursday with 30 players yet to complete their round. Play resumed Friday morning at 7:00 a.m. and was completed at 9:23 a.m.
First-Round Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | Total |
| T1 | Marco Penge | 66 (-5) |
| T1 | Jacob Bridgeman | 66 (-5) |
| T1 | Rory McIlroy | 66 (-5) |
| T1 | Aaron Rai | 66 (-5) |
| T5 | Wyndham Clark | 67 (-4) |
| T5 | Ryan Fox | 67 (-4) |
18-hole Lead Notes
- Four 18-hole co-leaders marks the most in The Genesis Invitational history since 2015 (6) and most on TOUR since the 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship (4)
Marco Penge (T1/-5)
- Holds first career lead/co-lead after any round on TOUR in 25th round
- Englishman earned his PGA TOUR card via the 2025 DP World Tour Top 10, claiming the No. 1 position
- Of the 22 rookies on the PGA TOUR for the 2026 season, only rookie in the field
- Qualified for the first two Signature Events of 2026 (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Genesis Invitational) by virtue of being the leading player in the final 2025 Race to Dubai Rankings who did not finish inside the top 50 in that season’s FedExCup
- Making fourth start this season (MC/Farmers Insurance Open, MC/WM Phoenix Open, T64/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
- Career-best result in 10 starts on TOUR: T2/2025 Genesis Scottish Open
- Won three DP World Tour titles in 2025: the Hainan Classic, the Danish Golf Championship and the Open de España
Aaron Rai (T1/-5)
- Holds fourth 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR in an individual stroke play event and first since the 2023 RBC Canadian Open
- Records his low round at Riviera Country Club with a 5-under 66 (previous 68: R3/2022, R4/2023)
- Making fourth start at The Genesis Invitational (T61/2022, T29/2023, T37/2025)
- Has made two starts on TOUR this season (T50/Sony Open in Hawaii, T73/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
- Has one win in 115 PGA TOUR starts (2024 Wyndham Championship)
- Finished No. 58 in the 2025 FedExCup Fall standings after qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive year
Jacob Bridgeman (T1/-5)
- Holds third 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR (2024 3M Open, 2025 Valspar Championship); 0-for-2 to date
- Making tournament debut opens with a 5-under 66, highlighted by an eagle on No. 1, marking his first time in 207 rounds opening with an eagle
- Has two top-10s in four starts this season (T4/Sony Open in Hawaii, T8/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
- Clemson product in his third season on TOUR; advanced to the TOUR Championship for the first time and finished T27 in the 2025 FedExCup standings
- Career-best result on TOUR: T2/2025 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches
Rory McIlroy (T1/-5)
- Holds 24th 18-hole lead/co-lead in an individual stroke-play event on TOUR and 3-for-23 converting the victory
- Records his lowest opening-round at Riviera Country Club with a 5-under 66 (previous R1: 67/2016, 2023)
- Making 10th appearance at The Genesis Invitational with three top-10s in nine prior starts (T4/2019, T5/2020, T10/2022)
- World No. 2 makes his second start of the season after finishing T14 at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
- Finished T3 and T33 in his two DP World Tour appearances in Dubai in 2026
- Seeks to join Horton Smith with 30 PGA TOUR wins (16th all time)
- Has the third most wins on TOUR without a win at The Genesis Invitational over the last 30 years (Tiger Woods/82, Vijay Singh/31)
Miscellaneous Notes
- The Genesis Invitational marks the 100-year anniversary since the first playing of the event in 1926; Riviera is one of nine venues on the PGA TOUR’s 2026 schedule that has hosted a PGA TOUR event for 50 or more years
- The three player-hosted Signature Events (The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday) are the only Signature Events that feature a 36-hole cut (the low 50 and ties and any additional players within 10 strokes of the 36-hole lead)
- Opening-round scores from notable players in the field:
- La Cañada, California native and winner of last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Collin Morikawa (68)
- 2025 FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood (69)
- Two-time Genesis Invitational champion and sponsor exemption Adam Scott (70)
- Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient Sahith Theegala (71)
- Defending champion Ludvig Åberg (72)
- World No. 1 and 20-time PGA TOUR winner Scottie Scheffler (74)
