Ace wins wheels for Will Zalatoris, Scottie Scheffler’s putter stays cold among 5 takeaways at the Genesis Invitational

Here are key things to know after the second round of the Genesis Invitaitonal.

Patrick Cantlay was asked if he prefers leading or chasing at a PGA Tour event.

“Oh, I’ll take leading, yeah, by as many as I can get,” he said.

Cantlay leads by five at the midway point of the Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades, California, the largest lead after 36 holes on the Tour since Brian Harman at the British Open in July and tied for the largest margin in Genesis Invitational tournament history (Sam Burns, 2021). The 31-year-old former UCLA Bruin followed up his opening-round 64 with a 6-under 65 on Friday to shoot 13-under 129 at Riviera Country Club.

Cantlay leads the field in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (+4.471) and SG: Putting (+6.826). “It’s the best putting surfaces I’ve ever seen around this place,” said Cantlay, who ranks 125th in SG: Putting for the season, but is perfect on all 27 putts from inside 10 feet this week. “I like when the greens are really fast, they’re as fast as I’ve ever seen them and I’ve made a bunch.”

Cantlay will attempt to put an end to his track record as the 36-hole leader or co-leader in individual stroke-play events. This marks his eighth time leading at the halfway point of a Tour event and he’s winless in the seven prior times as the frontrunner (most recently at the 2021 RBC Heritage, where he lost in a playoff). According to stats guru Justin Ray, over the last 20 years, players who lead by five strokes through two rounds on Tour win 72 percent of the time. Cantlay is bidding for his first Tour title since the 2022 BMW Championship.

Here are four more things to know after the second round of the Genesis Invitational, including Tiger Woods’s early exit after six holes due to flu-like symptoms.