Tournament Information:
Genesis Invitational
Date: February 17th – 20th
Course: Riviera Country Club
Purse: $12mm ($2.1mm to winner)
2021 Winner: Max Homa (-12)
Course: Riviera Country Club
Built in 1927 under the then Los Angeles Athletic Club, this event has hosted under the name Los Angeles Open dating back to 1929. At 7,300 yards, the par 71 course runs pretty easy if you don’t get caught up trying to get ahead too quickly and cheat through sections of the course. It has a course rating of 75.6 and a slope rating of 137. It’s fairways utilize Kikuyu grass (similar to Torrey Pines) which was brought in to supplement the polo course and it spread quite well. The thickness of Kikuyu gives great lies on fairway but makes rough shots tough. Wind can be an obstacle at times across this longer course, especially without a lot of trees to block cross drafts.
Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
My Starting 4
Dustin Johnson (first selection this year) – Dustin has been among the top 20 here each year for the last four years. He’s still got it, even if you feel like you aren’t seeing him in a lot of tournaments. He is currently 6th in OWGR, and while this is his third tournament of the year, he was 25th in the Farmers Insurance Open a few weeks ago.
Patrick Cantlay (second selection this year) — Cantlay is looking fantastic lately and he shines here, with top 15’s each of the last three years at Riviera.
James Hahn (first selection this year) — James has top 30 finishes his last three times at Genesis. He is top 40 in strokes gained tee to green and approaching the green. Coming off four consecutive missed cuts, there is a bit of faith in this pick to buck the recent trend.
Alex Noren (second selection this year) — Noren looked solid last week at Phoenix. He’s not too shabby at Genesis with top 20 finishes the last two times he came out here. Alex has a strong putting game (top 30 on tour) and he has three top 40 finishes across his last six tournaments.
My Bench 2
Patrick Rodgers (first selection this year) — Patrick has nothing but top 30 finishes here over the last four years. Patrick is top 50 in putting and irons around the green. He’s missed a few cuts but he also has a handful of top 10s earlier this season.
Will Zalatoris (second selection this year) — The up-and-comer had a respectable 15th place finish here last year. Top 30 in OWGR, he has top 10s each of the last three tournaments coming into Genesis.
2021-2022 Stats
Start: Average Finish 45th (35th percent)
Bench: Average Finish 52nd (41st percent)