Genesis Open 2019: Jordan Spieth Tied for Lead After Rain-Soaked Round Suspended

Jordan Spieth and Sung Kang paced the field during the rain-shortened opening round of the 2019 Genesis Open on Thursday at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

They are each five-under par in the early going, as Kang is through 14 holes and Spieth through 12 holes.

Rex Hoggard of Golf Channel noted the horn blew to halt play because of darkness after rain delayed the tournament.

Patrick Rodgers and Jimmie Walker are tied for third at four under through 13 and 10 holes, respectively, while Tony Finau and J.T. Poston are tied for fifth at three under through 12 and nine holes, respectively.

Cameron Morfit of PGATour.com noted there are a number of marquee golfers are in the field, including Matt Kuchar and Xander Schauffele, who are Nos. 1 and 2 atop the FedEx Cup standings. Elsewhere, three-time champion Bubba Watson, two-time champion Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods are included in the field.

Woods has never won the Genesis Open, and Morfit called it "one of the only holes in his golfing resume."

The 14-time major winner was one of many who didn't have the opportunity to even tee off before play was suspended. McIlroy, Kuchar, Thomas and Sergio Garcia were in the same situation.

Spieth did start his round and wasted little time in getting ahead of the field with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 17 after starting on the back nine.

The birdie on the 12th came with an impressive chip-in:

The Texas product also birdied all three par fives, which was a welcome change for him given his early showings this season. According to his PGA Tour profile, he is a mere 130th on the tour in par-five scoring average at 4.63.

He wasn't the only one who took advantage of the par fives, as Kang notched an eagle on No. 11. He also tallied four birdies, which helped him make up for his bogey on No. 9.

Elsewhere, Mickelson is one over through 12 holes, Schauffele is one over through 11 holes and Watson is even through 13 holes.

What's Next? 

Opening-round play will resume Friday morning at 7 a.m. PT as Spieth and Kang look to build on their impressive showings and create some early separation from the field.