Riviera newcomers Penge and Bridgeman share lead at Genesis with McIlroy on their heels

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marco Penge and Jacob Bridgeman had superb finishes at Riviera on Friday, each with a 7-under 64 that left them tied for the lead at the Genesis Invitational with Rory McIlroy right on their heels.

For Scottie Scheffler, the objective was just getting to the weekend. He accomplished that by the smallest of margins, a 7-foot par putt that caught just enough of the lip to swirl in.

Penge, the leading player from the European tour to secure a PGA Tour card for this year, pulled away with five birdies over his final seven holes and was the first to post at 12-under 130. More remarkable than his score was keeping his mind on golf — his wife is moving into their new home in Florida and expecting their second child next week.

“It’s been quite tough, to be fair, the last four weeks for me and my family,” Penge said. "She’s been in the U.S. on her own, heavily pregnant, looking after a 1 1/2-year old at the same time with no family or friends around.

“It’s been like a bit of a gamble of me just kind of going to compete and leaving her on her own.”

Bridgeman only played Riviera for the first time Wednesday because of rain. He birdied his last three holes, finishing with a 5-iron into a cool breeze to 8 feet to join Penge.

The former Clemson star has discovered a fondness for poa annua, the strain of grass that get bumpy with spikes and footprints and late afternoon growth, and can be downright terrifying on short par putts when the greens are this fast.

Joe Greiner, a caddie in his group, even asked him, “Are you sure you're not from the West coast?”

“It's shocking how soft they are and how fast they are,” Bridgeman said. “I think two or three times today I hit it 6 feet by the hole and was just like, ‘Wow, I don’t know how they’re that fast,’ because you can hit a 5-iron and it will back up. This is probably the most pure poa annua I’ve ever seen.”

McIlroy has opened 66-65 and he has only one bogey on his card through 36 holes, quite a change from last week at Pebble Beach when he had three double bogeys and a triple bogey that ruined his chances to contend.

He played the three par 5s with two birdies and an eagle on the 11th, and he birdied the par-3 fourth for the second straight day. The hole was lengthened to 273 yards, which McIlroy called a “horrible change” at the start of the year. The PGA Tour has yet to use that tee.

The biggest change was keeping mistakes out of his round.

“There’s no Pacific Ocean to hit it into around this golf course, so that helps,” McIlroy said. “I still hit some loose shots, but the course setup is in a way that you can get away with it a little bit more. But I’ve hit it well, I’ve controlled my distance well for the most part, and I’ve holed some nice putts from inside 8 feet for pars when I've needed to.”

Xander Schauffele showed more strides toward sharpness with a 65 that left him three shots behind, along with two-time Riviera winner Adam Scott, who had the low round of the day at 63. Scott was 9 under through 13 until spending the final hour scrambling for par and only failing to do that on the last hole.

This is one of three signature events that has a 36-hole cut to top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Scheffler, who had to rally Friday morning for a 74 to complete the rain-delayed first round, was well aware where he stood. He was on the ropes, 4-over par for the tournament, 10 holes to play, figuring he needed to get to even par.

The world's No. 1 player promptly made three straight birdies around the turn, the last two the product of his exquisite short game, and picked up another on the par-5 17th. But he got steep on a simple chip at the 18th and lightly pumped his fist when the 7-footer for par curled into the cup.

It was the third straight week he failed to break par in the opening round — something he hasn't done since his rookie season in 2020 — and he rallied in Phoenix and Pebble Beach to give himself a chance to win. This was about giving himself a chance to play, and he was delighted.

“I started the day not where I wanted to,” Scheffler said. “But yeah, battled and it looks like I get another couple rounds to see what I can do.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Scottie Scheffler hits from the ninth tee during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Xander Schauffele putts on the 18th hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Rory McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, waves after putting on the fourth hole during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Marco Penge, from England, reacts after putting on the 18th green during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Jacob Bridgeman hits from the 18th fairway during the second round of the Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Friday it backs a 10-year deadline for most cities and towns to replace their harmful lead pipes, giving notice that it will support a tough rule approved under the Biden administration to reduce lead in drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency told a federal appeals court in Washington that it would defend the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in three decades against a court challenge by a utility industry association.

The Trump administration has typically favored rapid deregulation, including reducing or killing rules on air and water pollution. On Friday, for example, it repealed tight limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal plants. But the agency has taken a different approach to drinking water.

“After intensive stakeholder involvement, EPA concluded that the only way to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act’s mandate to prevent anticipated adverse health effects ‘to the extent feasible’ is to require replacement of lead service lines," the agency's court filing said.

Doing so by a 10-year deadline is feasible, the agency added, supporting a rule that was based in part of the finding that old rules that relied on chemical treatment and monitoring to reduce lead “failed to prevent system-wide lead contamination and widespread adverse health effects.”

The EPA said in August it planned to defend the Biden administration's aggressive rule, but added that it would also “develop new tools and information to support practical implementation flexibilities and regulatory clarity.” Some environmental activists worried that that meant the EPA was looking to create loopholes.

Lead, a heavy metal once common in products like pipes and paints, is a neurotoxin that can stunt children's development, lower IQ scores and increase blood pressure in adults. Lead pipes can corrode and contaminate drinking water. The previous Trump administration’s rule had looser standards and did not mandate the replacement of all pipes.

The Biden administration finalized its lead-in-water overhaul in 2024. It mandated that utilities act to combat lead in water at lower concentrations, with just 10 parts per billion as a trigger, down from 15. If higher levels were found, water systems had to inform their consumers, take immediate action to reduce lead and work to replace lead pipes that are commonly the main source of lead in drinking water.

The Biden administration at the time estimated the stricter standards would protect up to 900,000 infants from having low birth weight and avoid up to 1,500 premature deaths a year from heart disease.

“People power and years of lead-contaminated communities fighting to clean up tap water have made it a third rail to oppose rules to protect our health from the scourge of toxic lead. Maybe only a hidebound water utility trade group is willing to attack this basic public health measure,” said Erik Olson, senior director at the Natural Resource Defense Council, an environmental nonprofit.

The American Water Works Association, a utility industry association, had challenged the rule in court, arguing the EPA lacks authority to regulate the portion of the pipe that's on private property and therefore cannot require water systems to replace them.

The agency countered on Friday that utilities can be required to replace the entire lead pipe because they have sufficient control over them.

The AWWA also said the 10-year deadline wasn't feasible, noting it's hard to find enough labor to do the work and water utilities face other significant infrastructure challenges simultaneously. Water utilities were given three years to prepare before the 10-year timeframe starts and some cities with a lot of lead were given longer.

The agency said they looked closely at data from dozens of water utilities and concluded that the vast majority could replace their lead pipes in 10 years or less.

The original lead and copper rule for drinking water was enacted by the EPA more than 30 years ago. The rules have significantly reduced lead in water but have been criticized for letting cities move too slowly when levels rose too high.

Lead pipes are most commonly found in older, industrial parts of the country, including major cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee. The rule also revises the way lead amounts are measured, which could significantly expand the number of communities found violating the rules.

The EPA under President Donald Trump has celebrated deregulation. Officials have sought to slash climate change programs and promote fossil fuel development. On drinking water issues, however, their initial actions have been more nuanced.

In March, for example, the EPA announced plans to partially roll back rules to reduce so-called “forever chemicals” in drinking water — the other major Biden-era tap water protection. That change sought to keep tough limits for some common PFAS, but also proposed scrapping and reconsidering standards for other types and extending deadlines.

PFAS and lead pipes are both costly threats to safe water. There are some federal funds to help communities.

The Biden administration estimated about 9 million lead pipes provide water to homes and businesses in the United States. The Trump administration updated the analysis and now projects there are roughly 4 million lead pipes. Changes in methodology, including assuming that communities that did not submit data did not have lead pipes, resulted in the significant shift. The new estimate does correct odd results from some states — activists said that the agency's initial assumptions for Florida, for example, seemed far too high.

The EPA declined to comment on pending litigation. The AWWA pointed to their previous court filing when asked for comment.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.

FILE - Richie Nero, of Boyle & Fogarty Construction, shows the the cross section of an original lead, residential water service line, at left, and the replacement copper line, at right, outside a home where service was getting upgraded June 29, 2023, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)