The PGA Tour concludes its West Coast Swing this week with the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, CA. Many of the top names on Tour will tee it up this week, given the tournament’s elevated status on Tour. The tournament is one of the oldest stops on Tour, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open.
California-native Max Homa looks to defend his title after defeating Tony Finau in a playoff last year. The victory was Homa’s second career PGA Tour win and the first of two victories on Tour in 2021. Homa will try to go back-to-back for the first time at this event since Phil Mickelson won back-to-back Invitationals in 2008-09.
The winner of the Genesis Invitational takes home a cool $2.16 million payday out of a total purse that jumps to $12 million this year. The victor also receives 550 FedEx Cup points, a 50-point boost than the typical tournament.
We dive deep into the information to give you some betting picks and strategies to lean on before Thursday’s first wave of players.
Genesis Open Tournament Analysis
Genesis Invitational Preview – Riviera Country Club
The tournament has been held at Riviera Country Club since 1973. The course plays as a par-71 at approximately 7,320 yards in length. Designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell, Riviera has been the host of three major championships and a future venue of the 2028 Olympic golf competition.
The greens at Riviera are Poa annua grass, and the fairways and rough are Kikuyu. Kikuyu is optimal playing out of the fairways but creates a challenge for those that find the rough. The short par-four 10th hole is long considered one of the best par-fours on Tour known for its risk-reward outcome.
Genesis Invitational Preview – The Field
For the first time this season, all top-10 players on Tour will be teeing it up in a tournament. Outside of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, this is the first ‘invitational’ event of the season with a limited field capped at 120 participants.
Highlighting the talented field includes reigning FedEx Cup winner Patrick Cantlay, world No. 1 Jon Rahm, and the current FedEx Cup leader Hideki Matsuyama.
Other past tournament winners teeing it up this week are Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, and Adam Scott.
The field is loaded with the top names in golf along with sponsor exemptions from across the globe. Rickie Fowler, Christian Bezuidenhout, Min Woo Lee, Robert MacIntyre, and Thomas Pieters are a couple of household names earning an exemption this week.
In 2009 the tournament formed an exemption called the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, going to one player who represents the advancement of diversity in golf.
This year’s recipient is Aaron Beverly, who was a decorated collegiate golfer and current member of the APGA Tour.
Genesis Invitational Trends
There are some betting trends for this tournament that you should follow before making selections before the week. Ten of the last 11 Genesis winners played at either Pebble or Phoenix as a tune-up before winning at Riviera.
Only two of the previous ten winners missed the cut in their last start before winning.
Genesis Open Prediction
Collin Morikawa (+2000) – Morikawa bucks the trends listed above, but his play in his four PGA Tour appearances this season can’t go unnoticed.
The 25-year old defending Open Champion has finished second, T7, T5, and T5 in four starts on Tour and a victory on the DP Tour Championship in Dubai.
Will Zalatoris (+2800) – Zalatoris hasn’t played since his solo second at the Farmers Insurance Open at the end of January. Last year, the 25-year-old played on a sponsor exemption at the Genesis, finishing T15 in his tournament debut. Zalatoris could continue the trend of first-time winners on Tour, with the past three events being one for the first time.
Alex Noren (+7500) – Our longshot play for the week, Noran comes into the tournament rounding into form after a T6 last week at the WM Open.
Noren is a decent play given the value, as the 39-year-old pro has cashed in all three times he’s played at Riviera, with his best finish a T12 last year.
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