Morikawa and McIlroy shared a group at Riviera on Thursday, playing through the wet conditions that have been a theme early in this year’s event.
While McIlroy shot a five-under 66, Morikawa was two shots behind after the opening round with a three-under.
The heavy rain over the past two days has left the course playing very soft.
That kind of softness usually works to players’ advantage, but it made dialling in approach shots more difficult than usual. There was a bit of wind too, which only added to the challenge. Players found it tough to manage their spin, especially when hitting into greens that were soaking up everything.
McIlroy was happy with how he managed his game in those conditions. It wasn’t just the weather making things tricky — distance control was an issue all day long with balls sitting down quickly on impact.
Speaking after his round in Pacific Palisades, Morikawa explained why he felt bad for Rory during their opening 18 holes together:
Collin Morikawa explains why he felt sorry for Rory McIlroy during Genesis opening round
Morikawa was happy enough with how he started the tournament, but he pointed out that getting the ball close to the hole was a real challenge, speaking to reporters after his round.
He said: “Yeah, I honestly don’t know how they got it to this. Like I’ve never seen greens like this. I mean, you could stop any club from anyplace on, you know, from the rough, flyer lies.
“Like, I mean, I think I had two or three shots today, flyers out of the first cut and rough and like I’m not worried about missing the green at all. It’s just purely hit and hope.”
The heavy rain left Riviera much softer than usual. While that typically helps players attack pins more confidently when hitting into soft greens at PGA Tour venues every week throughout the season – Riviera was a completely different challenge in those conditions.
It wasn’t necessarily unfair because every player faced exactly the same course on Thursday – but it did mean approach shots were more of a guessing game as opposed to skill execution in many instances.
The change came less than 24 hours before play began in California and means this is now his first tournament using new clubs since his return to Nike earlier this year.
McIlroy and Morikawa find success despite the softness of Riviera’s greens
It wasn’t uncommon to see players spinning balls back out of the rough, even when hitting long irons or woods.
The lack of firmness made it harder for players to get the ball close, as it became more about managing spin than taking advantage of receptive conditions.
Add in fast greens and gusts reaching 25 mph, and the opening round was anything but straightforward.
The forecast looks calmer for the weekend, which should allow scoring to improve as conditions stabilise.
Both McIlroy and Morikawa handled things well enough on day one, getting themselves into solid positions heading into Friday.
They’ll no doubt be hoping that drier weather helps firm up the playing surfaces over the coming days.
The sight of golf balls dropping out of the sky and stopping instantly doesn’t exactly make for compelling television either. Fans would probably prefer a bit more bounce to keep things interesting at Riviera this week.
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