Rory McIlroy Tied for Lead at Riviera Amidst Rain, Wind

Rory McIlroy lead genesis invitational amid chaos

Rory McIlroy and Jacob Bridgeman share the clubhouse lead at the Genesis Invitational after braving rain and wind at Riviera Country Club.

"I think one of my strengths is kind of flighting shots down...”

Rory McIlroy braved drenching rain and gusting winds to shoot a 5-under par 66, sharing the clubhouse lead at the Genesis Invitational. The Northern Ireland star had six birdies and a bogey, and is tied with American Jacob Bridgeman.

McIlroy, who completed his career Grand Slam with a Masters win last year, is currently tied with Bridgeman at 5-under par. Aaron Rai was 6-under through 16 holes when darkness halted play, putting him in a strong position to lead.

Rory's best opening nine holes in 10 career starts @TheGenesisInv 👀

He co-leads alongside Collin Morikawa and Akshay Bhatia at Riviera.

📺 @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/a7jeHtNyYk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 19, 2026

Both players bounced back strong from a rain delay of almost three hours, with soaking showers giving way to gusting winds in the afternoon.

World number one Scottie Scheffler was among the late starters who struggled, failing to find a birdie to balance a double-bogey and three bogeys that left him five-over through 10 holes and sharing last place when darkness fell.

Meanwhile, England's Rai was on fire, rolling to three-under through 12 holes, then birdying 13, 15 and 16 to surge to the top of the leaderboard, where he'll hope to stay when the round resumes on Friday.

McIlroy started strong, two-under through three holes, and maintained his momentum after the delay, sinking a 30-foot birdie putt at the fourth.

He kept rolling with a 19-foot birdie at the eighth and another at the par-five 11th. A bogey at 16 briefly dropped him out of the lead, but McIlroy bounced back with a birdie at the par-five 17th.

“I've definitely got more comfortable playing in conditions like this over the past few years as I've gotten more comfortable in controlling my ball flight,” McIlroy said. “I've started to just really enjoy this style of golf.

“Honestly, I haven't always had the skill set to excel in (the conditions),” he said. “To start to enjoy them and have the shots to succeed on days like this, that's a really satisfying thing to be able to be, you know, nearly 20 years into a career and still feel like you're getting better at some aspects of the game.”

McIlroy's Take on Riviera's Conditions

Rory McIlroy found the afternoon winds at Riviera Country Club "pretty tricky," rather than the rain that caused a three-hour delay. The Northern Ireland star shot a 5-under 66, sharing the clubhouse lead with Jacob Bridgeman. McIlroy has come up empty in eight prior starts at Riviera, but his game seems to be adapting to the challenging conditions.

Jacob Bridgeman, 26, loved the challenge of Riviera's tricky conditions, echoing McIlroy's sentiments. The American's chasing his first PGA Tour title, and he's loving the fight.

“It was great,” he said. “The rain was tough. The wind might have been a little bit harder than the rain, but it was cool.”

A new solo leader as the sun goes down 🌅

Aaron Rai moves to -6 thru 16 @TheGenesisInv. pic.twitter.com/F4ZuTuXUkG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 20, 2026

Bridgeman got off to a jerky start, eagle at the first, double bogey at the fourth.

He picked up steam post-delay with five birdies, including a 4-footer at the par-five 17th that put him atop the leaderboard.

"I think one of my strengths is kind of flighting shots down, hitting shots where people don't really know how far it's playing, what the number actually is and just kind of feeling it out ... I think today especially in the wind it played into my favor,” Bridgeman said.