SAN DIEGO — Patrick Rodgers is often mentioned alongside Tiger Woods because they share the Stanford record for most wins. What usually follows is the reminder that the 32-year-old Rodgers has yet to win on the PGA Tour.
He has a chance to change that in the Genesis Invitational, with Woods presenting the trophy.
Rodgers was at his best Saturday when golf’s best were faltering on a tough day at Torrey Pines, playing mistake-free until dumping a gap wedge into the water on the par-5 18th for his only bogey. That gave him a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead going into the final round.
“Whenever my name is mentioned, that’s the first thing that everybody says professionally, so it’s something that I have to deal with,” said Rodgers, who has played 283 times on the PGA Tour as a pro without winning. “I’ve struggled with it for a long time, but I feel like I’m viewing my career from a different vantage point now and I’m excited about the opportunity to cross that finish line tomorrow.”
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have a longer road than they imagined to that line. Both were in contention early, and both faded in their own way with a series of mistakes, each with a three-putt from the 12-foot range. They were five behind.
Rodgers was at 8-under 208, one shot ahead of Denny McCarthy (71). Ludvig Åberg, who had an ace on the par-3 third hole, had a 70 and was another shot behind.
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Rodgers won 11 times at Stanford, same as Woods (and later Maverick McNealy). Now he is one round away from Woods, the tournament host who is likely to be at Torrey Pines on Sunday, presenting him the trophy. Woods withdrew from the tournament after his mother died last week.
But for Rodgers, 18 holes can feel like a marathon, especially on a beast like the South course at Torrey Pines.
The course did a number on Scheffler and McIlroy.
Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, tied Davis Thompson for the lead with a birdie on the fifth and had the easily reachable par-5 sixth ahead of him. But he hit 7-wood from a fairway bunker into the crowd and then three-putted from just inside 15 feet for bogey.
He took two chips from thick rough near the par-5 ninth green and made bogey, took double bogey with a tee shot into the hazard on the 14th and wound up with a 76, his highest score in nearly three years.
Scheffler was five shots behind with McIlroy, whose round of 74 was more of a slow bleed until he three-putted from 12 feet on the par-3 16th. They will be paired together in the final round, teeing off a lot earlier than both of them would have liked.
The first day of full sunshine allowed for some good scoring early before a strong Pacific breeze kicked in. Tony Finau chipped in three times on his way to a 67. He started the day nine shots behind and will be in the penultimate group Sunday, four shots back.
Also four back were Patrick Cantlay (68), Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Thompson, the 36-hole leader who was holding his own until a 40 on the back nine gave him a 76.
McCarthy, steady through a roller coaster day for so many others, also is going for his first PGA Tour win. But far more was expected from Rodgers, who grew up in amateur golf with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas and has watched them pile up tour wins and majors.
He has switched his thinking from playing with expectations to simply trying to perform.
“It felt like early in my career with the amateur résumé that I had, I felt like there was a lot expected of myself internally,” he said. “And it was something where when immediate success, immediate wins didn’t come straight away, it was kind of fighting who I saw myself to be.
“So instead of playing with a monkey on your back that gets bigger and bigger over time when it doesn’t happen, I’m trying to play from a perspective that feels fresh and new and exciting and full of opportunity. Because that’s what this game is, and I have a great one tomorrow.”
The bogey on the 18th — his gap wedge came out softer than he imagined from the first cut and barely reached the green before rolling down the hill — was his only blemish. Still, he had a 54-hole lead for only the third time in his 11 years on tour.
His best work came on the back nine, starting with a 4-iron he laced into 15 feet for birdie on the 504-yard 12th hole followed by a 3-wood onto the green at the par-5 13th. Only three other players hit that green in two.
Rodgers also holed a 40-foot birdie putt across the 17th before his bogey at the end.
Aberg played alongside Rodgers and was impressed with what he saw.
“He played amazing, and he was great off the tee,” Aberg said. “You can be rewarded and have a lot of good chances into the greens, but as soon as you start missing the fairways, it gets pretty difficult. It’s a great golf course, it’s a U.S. Open golf course, and it definitely played that way today.”
