The from players at Pebble Beach will travel south down the California coast to just outside of Los Angeles for Tiger Woods’ event, the Genesis Invitational. It will be quite a change from last week’s tournament that saw just five players in the Top 50 in the world, as eight of the top-10 players in the world will tee it up at Riviera Country Club this week.
Despite the strong field, Dustin Johnson is listed at just +550 to win in the opening odds across several books, a credit to the dominance he has displayed since the summer. He now travels to a course where he has had great success in his career, but will have no shortage of elite players to contend with this week.
The Course
Riviera Country Club – Pacific Palisades, CA
7,322-yard Par 71
- Setup: Three Par 5s, Four Par 3s, 11 Par 4s
- Average Green Size: 7,500 square feet (smallest on TOUR)
- Greens: Poa annua
- Rough: Kikuyu 2″
- Sand Bunkers: 58
- Water Hazards: None
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
- Birdie or Better Percentage
- Bogey Avoidance
- Strokes Gained Putting (Poa)
Course Horses (Last 5 years)
Bubba Watson: MC-15-1-DNP-1
Even coming off a missed cut at last year’s Genesis Invitational, Bubba Watson captures my top spot in course history. I just couldn’t give it to anyone else when he has three wins in his last six appearances. There is no doubt this Riviera is a certified “Bubba Track.”
Dustin Johnson: T10-T9-T16-1-4
The player with the best odds to win this week is unsurprisingly the No. 1 player in the world, Dustin Johnson. Just to add some concern for the rest of the field, he has also historically scorched Riviera Country Club to the tune of eight Top 10 finishes in 11 trips to the event. He won the Genesis back in 2017 and has two runner up finishes.
Adam Scott: 1-T7-T53-T11-T2
The defending champion coming into this week is Adam Scott, but it wasn’t a one-hit wonder for the Australian. Scott has made the cut at Riviera in each of his last seven appearances and has six Top 20 finishes. His win last year was his fourth Top 10 finish in that seven-year span. He, like a few Aussies, has seen solid success at the Genesis.
Rory McIlroy: T5-T4-T20-DNP-T20
It wasn’t until 2016 that Rory made his debut at Riviera Country Club. He seems to have found the course to his liking since then with four Top 20 finishes in as many starts. He will come into this year’s event off of back-to-back Top 5 finishes, and will be looking to end an extended winless streak for one of the top players in the world.
Matt Kuchar: T2-T28-T26-T22-T8
If there was ever a test of recent form versus course history, look no further than Matt Kuchar this week at the Genesis Invitational. He has had steady results at Riviera in his career, with just one missed cut in 10 appearances at this event, including two Top 10 finishes in the last five years. His runner-up finish at this tournament last year was a single bright spot in the last 12 months, as he only had one other Top 20 in that time frame. Kuch will look for the good vibes of a familiar track to help him find something this week.
