The Genesis Invitational Round 3: Patrick Rodgers Leads as Scheffler and McIlroy Stumble

Saturday at Torrey Pines was supposed to be a heavyweight fight. Instead, the heavyweights hit the canvas, and two of the PGA TOUR's most patient grinders walked into the final group.

Patrick Rodgers shot a 4-under 68 to reach 8-under 208 and take a one-shot lead into the final round of The Genesis Invitational. Denny McCarthy, the first-round leader, shot 71 and sits one back at 7 under. Ludvig Åberg, who made the shot of the week with an ace on the third hole, shot 70 and is two back at 6 under. Behind them, the board got crowded and a lot less famous at the top: Davis Thompson, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood are all four back at 4 under.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, who started the day in the final two groups, are five back after rounds of 76 and 74.

Rodgers Finally Gets His Shot

Rodgers was the steadiest player on a day when the course flipped from friendly to fierce. The morning brought the first full sunshine of the week, and early scoring was there for the taking before a strong Pacific breeze picked up.

The key stretch came in the middle of the back nine. Rodgers hit a 4-iron to 15 feet for birdie on the 504-yard 12th, then smashed a 3-wood onto the green at the par-5 13th, one of only three players all day to get there in two, per the AP. On 17 he poured in a 42-foot birdie putt. The only blemish came at the last, where a gap wedge for his third shot found the water and he scrambled for bogey.

The pressure is real. Rodgers matched or broke some of Tiger Woods' records at Stanford, but he has never won on the PGA TOUR. Per Field Level Media, he has four runner-up finishes in 286 TOUR events.

"It felt like early in my career with the amateur resume that I had, I felt like there was a lot expected of myself internally," Rodgers said, per the AP. Rodgers framed Sunday as an opportunity, not a burden: "Because that's what this game is, and I have a great one tomorrow."

McCarthy's Wild Ride

McCarthy looked ready to run away with it for a while. Per Field Level Media, McCarthy made four birdies in a five-hole stretch to get to 9 under through 10 holes, then gave two back to finish at 7 under.

Rodgers and McCarthy, together, bring nearly 500 PGA TOUR starts to the final group without a single win. McCarthy has two runner-up finishes in 193 starts. Sunday is a chance to rewrite that.

The Ace and the Lurker

Åberg's highlight was the loudest roar of the day. From 140 yards on the third, he holed a pitching wedge for the tournament's first hole-in-one. Per Field Level Media, it was the first ace on that hole since Richy Werenski did it at the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open, 1,479 days earlier, and the sixth on TOUR this season, all of them by international players.

Åberg played alongside Rodgers and came away impressed. "He played amazing and he was great off the tee," Åberg said, per the AP. "It's a great golf course, it's a U.S. Open golf course, and it definitely played that way today."

The No. 1 Comes Undone

Nobody expected this from Scheffler. He actually tied for the lead with a birdie on the fifth. Then the wheels came off. On the par-5 sixth, he hit 7-wood from a fairway bunker into the gallery and three-putted from inside 15 feet for bogey. He bogeyed the par-5 ninth after two chips from thick rough. On the 14th, his tee shot found the hazard, and the result was a double bogey.

The 76 was Scheffler's highest score in nearly three years, per the AP. He is still only five back, but now he will be chasing from well behind the final group.

McIlroy's 74 was what the AP called a slow bleed, capped by a three-putt from 12 feet on the par-3 16th. The pair will play together on Sunday, with tee times earlier than either one would want.

Thompson had the hardest day of all. The 36-hole leader shot 40 on the back nine and signed for 76, dropping into the logjam at 4 under.

Finau's Chip-In Clinic

The best round of the day belonged to Finau. Starting nine shots off the lead, Finau chipped in three times on the way to a 67 and jumped into the penultimate group, four back.

Cantlay (68) and Fleetwood (69) also climbed to 4 under, giving Sunday a deep list of proven winners lurking behind two players still chasing their first.

Sunday's Equation

Here is the setup: Rodgers at 8 under, McCarthy at 7, Åberg at 6, and a pack of four at 4 under. A strong breeze and a course that Åberg compared to a U.S. Open will make every lead feel smaller than it looks.

Two players without a TOUR win sit on top of the board. A long, tough Torrey Pines back nine stands between everyone on it and a $20 million signature event title.

Catch up on the week with our Round 1 and Round 2 recaps. Full scores are on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.