Willie Mack III has fine Genesis Invitational debut as Sam Burns takes lead

Sam Burns watches the flight of his ball after he sprayed shot from a greenside bunker.

Staff Writer

Feb. 18, 2021 7:13 PM PT

It was a great day for Willie Mack III.

Playing in his second PGA Tour event, Mack shot a one-under-par 70 at Riviera in the opening round Thursday of the Genesis Invitational.

That was the second-best debut for any golfer who received the tournament’s Charlie Sifford exemption, which every year since 2009 has been awarded to a golfer representing a minority background. The only player to surpass that was Harold Varner III, now an established tour pro who opened with a 69 in 2014.

Mack, 32, who was homeless for more than a year after college and lived out of his car, failed to make the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open three weeks ago, shooting 74-75 at Torrey Pines.

Although he has won 65 times on various mini-tours, his biggest purse was $37,000. The winner this week collects $1,674,000.

Asked if he’s just happy to be here, Mack said: “No, I’m not. I’m out here trying to win like everybody else. I tee it up just like everybody else, so why not come out here and try to win?”

Tae Hoon Kim of South Korea peers out over a green side bunker to see where his ball lands on the second hole.

Sam Burns shot a 64 to lead the field by two strokes at seven under, with Matthew Fitzpatrick and Max Homa tied for second.

Burns set the tone with an eagle on the par-five first hole.

“I think we were just pretty consistent throughout the round,” he said. “We knew we were going to have a tough stretch there to kind of start the back nine. I think just being patient out here. This golf course at times doesn’t offer you a lot of opportunities, so I think just with that mind-set going in we were just going to kind of take what we could get.”