Patrick Cantlay’s lead shrinks after 70 at Genesis Invitational

CALIFORNIA: Patrick Cantlay gave up ground on the five-stroke lead he owned heading into Saturday’s third round but still sits atop the leaderboard after his 1-under-par 70 at the Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Cantlay sits at 14 under, just two strokes ahead of Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris, who fired identical 65s to put some pressure on the leader.

Luke List dropped to solo fourth after a 68, no match for the red-hot rounds posted by Schauffele and Zalatoris. Harris English (65 on Saturday) and Australian Jason Day (69) are four shots off the lead in a tie for fifth.

Cantlay opened his round with a birdie but finished with just three against two bogeys. “I played solid golf today, I didn’t make any long putts or anything,” Cantlay said Saturday. “Didn’t really give myself too many chances, but all in all a solid day and in good position for tomorrow.”

Cantlay, in search of his ninth win on tour, will be paired with good friend Schauffele, who eagled No. 1 and carded four birdies coming in for his bogey-free round. The 65 marked his career-low score in 27 rounds at The Riviera Country Club.

“To play good golf around Riviera you’ve got to sort of fire on all cylinders, and (I’ve) been able to do that the last couple days,” Schauffele said. “Just wanted to give myself a shot (Sunday). I see Pat’s still making birdies, so he looks like a tough man to beat right now.” Zalatoris carded seven birdies against just one bogey for his 65.

“You can’t really fake it around this place,” he said. “I got away with a couple of really bad tee shots (Saturday) and ended up making a few birdies and a few really nice pars out of it. I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing. Whatever it adds up to, it is what it is.”

English is after his fifth career title and first since the 2021 Travelers Championship. “It’s an awesome track. Got a lot of guys around the hunt,” English said. “It’s going to be one of those coming down the back nine. It’s a special place and you’ve got to be on your game. I think you can really separate yourself from the field if you’re kind of hitting on all cylinders and I was doing that (Saturday).” J.T. Poston (66), Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (68) and Corey Conners of Canada (70) are T7 at 8 under, six shots back.