UPDATE 1-Golf-Thomas and Scott share Genesis lead after two rounds


Reuters | Updated: 17-02-2019 05:03 IST | Created: 17-02-2019 05:03 IST
UPDATE 1-Golf-Thomas and Scott share Genesis lead after two rounds

Justin Thomas and Adam Scott shrugged off chilly morning conditions on Saturday to share the lead after the second round of the rain-interrupted Genesis Open in Los Angeles.

The pair, both former world number ones, completed rounds of six-under-par 65 at Riviera to lead on 11-under 131. After weather disrupted play the first two days, Thomas had to finish off six holes of his second round early on Saturday, while Australian Scott had seven left. The players also began the third round on Saturday, with the leaders scheduled to tee off at 5 p.m. local time (0100 GMT), which means they will only complete a couple of holes before darkness.

Officials remain confident of completing 72 holes by late Sunday. The leading pair headed J.B. Holmes (69) by one stroke and Patrick Rodgers (67) and Michael Thompson (64) by two.

Rodgers was helped by an eagle at the par-four seventh, where his approach shot from 130 yards landed just beyond the hole and backtracked in. Rory McIlroy vaulted within four shots of the lead with an eight-birdie 63, the best score of the round.

But Tiger Woods struggled at a tournament he has never won, a 71 leaving him 10 strokes off the pace. Four-times major winner McIlroy said the weather had been so cold on Saturday morning that club selection had been difficult.

"My seven-iron that usually goes 185 (yards), it was going 160," said the Northern Irishman. "It's (a matter of) trusting that you've got the right club. There's a bit of guesswork involved. It worked out pretty well this morning."

McIlroy had to complete six holes on Saturday morning. "It's been a lot of stop-start, but it's been the same for everyone. Just happy to give myself a chance the last two days."

Woods, playing the back nine first, struggled with his putting for much of the first two rounds, but drained a 24-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole to salvage a round that included five bogeys and an eagle. Seventy-six players made the cut, which fell at even par. (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; additional reporting by Gene Cherry; editing by Peter Rutherford)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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