2023 Genesis Invitational final leaderboard explored
The 2023 Genesis Invitational was close and Max Homa and Jon Rahm went neck-to-neck, giving each other a tough fight, in which Rahm eventually triumphed. Rahm entered the final round at Riviera Country Club with a three-stroke lead but struggled to keep the momentum from faltering at various points. However, he played well enough to hit the final round of 2-under 69 to aggregate at 17-under after four days.
"I could explain exhaustion right now. That was a tough week and a tough Sunday. Max battled out there and Patrick kind of gave us a scare. I am just glad I could come through in the end," said Rahm after winning his third title of the year.
The Genesis Invitational is Rahm's third title of the year, as he already won the Sentry TOC and The American Express last month.
Max Homa fell two shots short of Rahm to settle for the runner-up position. He carded the final round at 3-under 68, better than the Spaniard but not good enough to go past him. His four-day total was 15-under. He did take the lead momentarily during the fourth round but a bizarre tee shot at the 13th hole took the momentum away. To add insult to injury, Rahm hit a birdie on the next hole only to increase the gap between the two.
Patrick Cantlay was in some form on Sunday. He hit 5 birdies in the first 11 holes, which increased his chances of taking the trophy home. However, his form in the last 7 holes dipped a little bit as he hit two bogeys and could only hole one bogey in these. This made sure that he would have to sit behind Rahm and Homa on the final leaderboard.
Will Zalatoris concluded the four days at the Genesis Invitational with a 13-under with the help of the final round of 7-under. His final round consisted of eight birdies. But that wasn't enough to win, courtesy of his not-so-good previous rounds. The 26-year-old struggled with injuries in the second half of 2022, which kept him out of the game for quite some time. However, it now seems he has found some form and could be a serious contender for upcoming events.
Keith Mitchell was this week's story. After finishing at T-4 at AT&T Pro-Am, Mitchell had another strong outing at Riviera Country Club with a fifth-place finish. Mitchell was not among the contenders, not even underrated, but he started well in the first round when he carded a 7-under. However, his last three rounds weren't as great as the first. He shot a round of 1-under 70 on Sunday to settle for fifth position.
Sahith Theegla and Collin Morikawa finished joint sixth at 11 under. Matt Kuchar ended up in 8th position with a score of 10-under. Jason Day, Garry Woodland, and Adam Svenson finished at T-9 with a score of 9-under.
Tiger Woods finishes at T-45 at Genesis Invitational 2023
Tiger Woods, who played in his first non-Major PGA tournament in two years, finished in T45. He looked a bit rusty, a bit on and off, and had two good rounds and two not-so-great at the Genesis Invitational 2023. He had his moments. His final round of 2-over 73 included 5 bogeys.
He also got into controversy when he handed a tampon to Justin Thomas during the first round at Riviera Country Club. This later caused severe criticism, which led to Woods apologizing for it later.