Scottie Scheffler experiences another sluggish beginning but qualifies for the Genesis tournament.

LOS ANGELES — Scottie Scheffler offered a subtle fist pump when his final putt narrowly dropped in on the 18th hole at Riviera, a typical response for him when securing victories in tournaments. The distinction on Friday was that this putt enabled him to make the cut at the Genesis Invitational.

A sluggish start for the third consecutive week meant Scheffler needed to sink a 7-foot par putt on a green that presented the challenging combination of being both spongy and fast. This allowed him to finish with a 3-under 68, concluding two rounds at Riviera with an even-par total of 142.

The Genesis Invitational is one of three signature events with a $20 million purse that implements a 36-hole cut for the top 50 players and ties, as well as any competitor within 10 shots of the lead. The 10-shot rule became irrelevant when Marco Penge birdied five of his last seven holes to post a score of 12-under 130.

“It was great to make a putt and earn another two chances at the course,” Scheffler remarked. “I began the day not in the position I desired, but I fought through and it appears I have a couple more rounds to see what I can achieve.”

“Fought” is a term Scheffler has been using more frequently than he would prefer lately.

He started with a 2-over 73 at the Phoenix Open, placing himself outside the cut line, but responded with a 65 to finish just one shot shy of a playoff. He recorded a 72 at Pebble Beach to begin the previous week and was 13 shots behind at one point on Friday before a 67-63 finish that had him tied for the lead at one stage.

This week presents a different scenario, primarily due to Scheffler’s less-than-stellar history at Riviera.

“I don’t know,” he stated. “This place and I have a peculiar relationship. I feel capable of playing well here, yet I haven’t managed to do so.”

In five prior appearances at Riviera, Scheffler’s best performance left him seven shots off the lead, while in the other four instances, he finished nine shots behind. Therefore, as he enjoys an 18-tournament streak of top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour, this was not the venue to fall behind.

Unfortunately, he had to make two birdies on Friday morning to complete the rain-delayed first round with a score of 74, matching his highest score at Riviera. This marked the first occasion since his rookie season in 2020 that Scheffler had three consecutive tournaments where he failed to break par in the opening round.

“I wouldn’t attribute it to anything specific,” he said when asked about the recent trend of falling behind. “I think in both of the last two tournaments, teeing off late is never the easiest, and I’ve started slowly. Teeing off yesterday when we did was quite challenging on this golf course.”

Indeed, it was. Morning rain that resulted in a three-hour delay gave way to a cold, strong wind in the afternoon on greens that were soft enough to plug yet fast enough to require caution.

“You want to avoid having another 3, 3½ feet coming back,” Scheffler noted. “And yesterday was definitely a day when none of my putts were dropping. It was nice to get out this morning on some fresh greens and sink some putts to do what I needed to do to make it to the weekend.”

However, it wasn’t solely about the putting.

Scheffler has missed half of the fairways in each of the last two rounds. He missed the second green on Thursday with a shot from the left rough that landed halfway up the hill on the right. From the right rough on Friday, his approach was so far left that he ended up near the 10th tee.

Nevertheless, he executed enough well to extend his cut streak to 68 tournaments dating back to the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2022, the longest active streak on tour.

Scheffler was 4 over for the tournament with 10 holes remaining when he hit his approach on No. 9 to 3 feet for birdie. He made a perfect pitch to 3 feet on the 10th for another birdie. He chipped to a short distance for birdie on the par-5 11th. Finally, he secured a birdie on the par-5 17th from a greenside bunker. Importantly, he recorded no bogeys.

“I was well aware that I needed to reach at least even par given the conditions,” Scheffler said. “So, I was just trying to do what I could.”