After a year, the PGA Tour, with the 2026 Genesis Invitational, has returned to Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, following the wildfire that forced the 2025 edition to be relocated to Torrey Pines.

However, the tournament is once again dealing with disruption, this time due to the weather. 

Heavy rain hit the Pacific Palisades area on Thursday morning, leading officials to suspend play at 10:13 a.m. local time as water began to collect on the greens. 

Play resumed at 1:09 p.m. after maintenance crews cleared the surface. After nearly three hours of delay, officials implemented preferred lies for the first round.

For now, the rule applies only to Round 1, although it could remain in effect for later rounds if wet conditions continue.

Weather Forces Preferred Lies at Genesis Invitational: All You Need to Know About the Rule

The PGA Tour has modified the preferred lies rule, reducing the relief area from a full club length to the length of a scorecard.

Earlier, when preferred lies (lift, clean, and place) were in effect, players could place the ball within one club length of its original position. 

Now, under the updated rule, players can only move the ball within the length of a scorecard, which is about 12 inches.

The objective of this change is to ensure fairer outcomes by keeping the ball closer to its original spot and preventing players from gaining an advantage by improving their angle to the hole.

The 2018 John Deere Classic winner supported the rule change and reflected on his experience with the previous version, writing on X: “Great new rule change for preferred lies. Instead of a full club-length relief, it’s only scorecard relief. Experienced it during the DP World Tour and thought it was much better. A full club length can really change the angle of a chip shot sometimes.”

After a three-hour suspension caused by heavy rain and wind disrupting the opening round, attention now turns to the first-round leaderboard at the Genesis Invitational.

Genesis Invitational Leaderboard Takes Shape After Three-Hour Rain Delay at Riviera Country Club

After the suspension, the first-round ofthe 2026 Genesis Invitational began to take shape at Riviera Country Club. 

Aaron Rai moved into the lead at 6-under par, although his round was halted due to darkness with two holes remaining.

Following him, Rory McIlroy and Jacob Bridgeman are tied for second at 5-under par, with both players completing their rounds with scores of 66. 

Ryan Fox sits at 4-under after finishing with a 67, while Collin Morikawa and Akshay Bhatia are among those tied at 3-under after carding rounds of 68.

Si Woo Kim also reached 3-under but had not completed his round when play was suspended.

However, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled in the conditions and was at 5-over par through 10 holes when play was halted.

What do you think of the rule? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu