LA JOLLA, Calif. — Thursday’s first round of the Genesis Invitational brought about brutal conditions: temperatures in the 50s, a nagging drizzle, and a chilly, vicious wind out of the south. Players had no choice but to bundle up, wearing outfits you might wear to the ski mountain, not to Torrey Pines South.
Hand warmers, mitts, extra layers: PGA Tour pros battle cruel Genesis Invitational conditions
Rain, wind, and chilly temperatures made things rather difficult for everyone at the Genesis Invitational.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Patrick Rodgers went through a few hand warmers, wearing big cart mittens in between shots. Ireland’s Seamus Power wore extra layers, and Tom Kim even used a hand pouch while warming up on the driving range — something Josh Allen would wear during a Buffalo Bills game in January.
Denny McCarthy, who leads at 4-under, also carried a hand warmer in his back pocket and wore a full suite of layers.
But that did not stop him from producing one of the shots of the day. On the par-5 18th, he had 267 yards left for his second shot. McCarthy had 5-wood in hand but decided to club up and hit a 3-wood. The decision paid off as he stuck it to seven feet and converted the eagle try, which leapfrogged him to the top of the leaderboard.
“I’m a grindy competitor so I knew it was going to be a challenge today,” McCarthy said.
“I came out with the attitude that I was just going to have fun and try to embrace it as much as I could.”
Everyone in the field had their umbrellas out too, donning rain gear in an attempt to stay dry. Each player also went through multiple gloves, doing their best to keep their hands and their grips dry. All of this makes life extremely difficult for the caddies.
“I’d much rather be the player than the caddie,” Rodgers joked after posting a 3-under 69, one of just three sub-70 rounds on Thursday. Power also shot 69.
“The night before, you see the forecast, and you just know it’s going to be really difficult. It almost feels like once you’re out there, you can have to get through it one shot at a time, but it’s the daunting nature of knowing you’ve got to spend 18 holes with the rough the way that it is, the length of the golf course and the weather that was forecasted, it’s no easy task.”
The South Course at Torrey Pines features overseeded ryegrass that is U.S. Open thick. Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Wyndham Clark — and every player, for that matter — have taken massive hacks out of the rough, struggling to advance the ball more than 150 yards on multiple occasions. With the wind whipping, finding the fairways — a necessity on this course — became quite challenging. No wonder only 13 of the 72 players in this week’s field posted under-par scores.
“Honestly, on a golf course like this, you know it’s going to be tough,” Power said.
“You just know what’s coming, and there’s no real letup; you’ve got to hit some good shots. That’s the beauty of this golf course. It’s right there in front of you, but you do have to hit a lot of good shots in a row, and it’s going to test every part of your game.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
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