A rainy, wet, miserable day at Torrey Pines Golf Club tested the world’s best in the first round of the 2025 Genesis Invitational. Taking to the South Course, players endured a brutal 18 holes and combined to post a scoring average north of two strokes over par. While many failed the examination presented to them, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was among the few to pass with flying colors.
Scheffler sits two strokes off the first-round lead held by Denny McCarthy, who eagled the par-5 18th to post a 4-under 68. At 2 under, Scheffler was among just 13 players — including the likes of Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and Min Woo Lee — in the 72-man field to shoot in red figures on Thursday.
“I’m a grindy competitor, so … I knew it was going to be a challenge today, and I came out with the attitude that I was just going to have fun and try to embrace it as much as I could,” McCarthy said.
Fresh off a back-nine 41 to end his WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler shrugged off his late struggles in that tournament to get back into his normal groove. The three-time reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year asserted his presence early and often as two birdies in his first four holes quickly pushed his name to the top of the leaderboard.
Two more birdies came roaring home on Nos. 6-7 to sandwich his lone square on the front nine, the par-4 5th. Scheffler turned in 3 under and held on for dear life as conditions shifted by the minute and scoring remained at a premium. Penciling a bogey onto his scorecard due to a tough break off the tee on the par-4 14th, Scheffler hunkered down before failing to take advantage of a rare scoring chance on the par-5 finisher.
Still, the top player in the game remains in good shape to take down his fifth signature event across the last two seasons. Playing himself onto the first page of the leaderboard in his third start of the year, Scheffler seems to be slowly knocking off his competitive rust, which can only spell trouble for the rest of the field the more this tournament progresses.
The leader
1. Denny McCarthy (-4): An already long golf course played even longer Thursday due to the conditions, so naturally, one of the shorter hitters in the field tops the leaderboard. McCarthy had no luck across Torrey Pines in four prior trips as he failed to finish inside the top 60 in any of his Farmers Insurance Open appearances. He looks keen to change his fortunes on the cliffs of California via his traditional method of holing putts with consistency.
McCarthy gained over three strokes on the field with the putter in hand, but he also impressed elsewhere. Riding a bit of form with his scoring clubs coming into the week, the right hander gained more than +1.50 strokes on approach, which will be key to his chances of staying in contention and possibly nabbing his long-awaited first PGA Tour title.
“I haven’t played here in four years; it’s been a while since I’ve been here. It is very difficult, especially with the rain and the rough length,” McCarthy said. “The rough’s gnarly and the rain makes it even more difficult. Even though the greens are soft, it’s still hard to — they’re so pitched, they put some really tough flags today. It was still really hard to get close to certain flags, especially with the wind direction.
“It’s a very difficult golf course. I enjoy the challenge of it. I’m not the longest of hitters, but you’ve got to keep it in the fairway. I didn’t do that for a couple holes coming in, I got some decent breaks, I managed to same some good pars. It’s a very difficult golf course. I like it a lot. It’s very challenging, and I’m looking forward to the next couple days.”
Contenders
T2. Patrick Rodgers, Seamus Power (-3)
T4. Scottie Scheffler, Davis Thompson, Wyndham Clark (-2)
T7. Nick Dunlap, Sam Burns, Nico Echavarria, Jake Knapp, Andrew Novak, Min Woo Lee, Michael Kim (-1)
Clark’s inconsistency has carried over to 2025, but when on, he is more than capable of taking down a signature event like he did last season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. In fact, all four of Clark’s top-five finishes in 2024 came in signature events (including the Players Championship), and that trend may be continuing into the new season.
Two of his three PGA Tour victories have come in the state of California, and on Thursday, he got the job done in his typical manner. Clark ranked inside the top 10 in driving distance, scrambling, strokes gained around the green and strokes gained putting.
Rory McIlroy’s patience continues to pay off
McIlroy preached patience in his victory at Pebble Beach, and he will need that in spades this week at Torrey Pines. Despite not having his best stuff with his irons, the four-time major champion effectively navigated his way around the par 72 for an even round.
He ranked towards the bottom of the field in terms of strokes gained approach and hit only half the fairways. Even with a less-than-stellar statistical profile, the 27-time winner is in position to add another trophy to his mantle thanks in large part to some nifty wedge shots like his up-and-down from the rough on No. 5 and his chip-in birdie on the par-3 8th.
2025 Genesis Invitational updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler: 2-1
- Rory McIlroy: 7-1
- Denny McCarthy: 12-1
- Wyndham Clark: 16-1
- Collin Morikawa: 20-1
- Seamus Power: 22-1
- Sam Burns: 22-1
- Davis Thompson: 22-1
- Patrick Rodgers: 25-1
- Min Woo Lee: 25-1
- Justin Thomas: 25-1
It’s hard to look past Scheffler, but McIlroy’s grit was impressive in Round 1. Even without his best stuff, the Northern Irishman maneuvered his way through Torrey Pines with only two bogeys on the scorecard. The scoring will come as his driver starts to behave, and at a 7-1 price tag similar to his pre-tournament number it may be time to jump in.
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