On a course that is widely regarded as one of the toughest the PGA Tour plays on during its regular season, Dylan Frittelli opened the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California with a three-under-par 68 on Thursday.
That put him in a share of 12th, five shots behind the first-round leader Joaquin Niemann of Chile, who made nine birdies in his opening round of eight-under 63. He had a three-stroke lead over last week’s PGA Tour winner Scottie Scheffler, former world number one Jordan Spieth, American Cameron Young and defending champion Max Homa, all of whom were on five-under.
There were six players one ahead of Frittelli on four-under in a share of sixth.
Frittelli started like a house on fire with three consecutive birdies on the first three holes, but he dropped a shot on the long par-three fourth when he pulled his tee shot left and missed a putt from inside four feet to save his par. He picked up two more birdies ahead of the turn on the seventh and eighth, but he dropped another shot on the homeward nine with a bogey on the 15th. His tee shot found a fairway bunker, and he was only able to advance his ball a short distance up the fairway from there.
Branden Grace opened with a two-over-par 73, while Erik van Rooyen, Charl Schwartzel and Christiaan Bezuidenhout each had a three-over 74 in the first round.
