PGA Tour Picks: Genesis Invitational

By Tom LaMarre

Tiger Woods will make his next attempt to break Sam Snead’s PGA Tour record of 82 victories this week in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country in Pacific Palisades, where he first played in a professional event as a 16-year-old amateur from nearby Cypress.

There’s one catch, as even though Woods has won 14 times in California on the PGA Tour, he surprisingly has never won in 11 appearances at Riviera in what started out as the Los Angeles Open.

“I love the golf course, I love the layout, it fits my eye–and I play awful,” Woods said two years ago about the classic course at Riviera. “It’s very simple. It’s just one of those weird things.

“It’s a fader’s golf course for a righty. A lot of the holes, you hit nice soft cuts, and I used to love to hit nice soft cuts–and for some reason I just didn’t play well.”

Woods’ best chance to win the Los Angeles-area event came in 1998, when he lost to Billy Mayfair in a playoff, but the tournament was played at Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita because Riviera was preparing to host the U.S. Senior Open Championship later that year.

Tiger also tied for second the following year at Riviera, two strokes behind Ernie Els, one of his nine top-20 results in the tournament, but he did not even play the event for 12 years before he returned as tournament host two years ago.

Among the greats of the game who won the old L.A. Open include Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Billy Casper, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, “Lighthorse Harry” Cooper, Macdonald Smith, Jimmy Demaret, Gene Littler, Lloyd Mangrum, Ken Venturi, Bob Goalby, Dave Stockton, Jug McSpaden, Tommy Bolt, Doug Ford, Phil Rodgers, Charlie Sifford, Hale Irwin, George Archer, Gil Morgan, Fred Couples, Corey Pavin, Tom Kite, Lanny Wadkins and Craig Stadler.

Jack Nicklaus never won the tournament, but he earned his first professional paycheck of $33.33 by tying for 50th in 1962 when the event was played at Rancho Park Golf Course in Los Angeles. The Golden Bear finished second to Morgan in 1978 at Riviera.

This year, the tournament that was the Genesis Open, which benefits Woods’ TGR Foundation and other local charities, has been elevated to the invitational status of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament, hosted by Nicklaus.

“It’s an honor for us to be in the same category as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer,” said Woods, who missed the cut two years ago and tied for 15th last year. “Those are two legends of the game. For us to have this type of elevation, all the things we want to have happen for the tournament are going to happen.

“On top of that, to be able to host the tournament each and every year at Riviera, where it all started for me, it’s come full circle.”

Because the pros love Riviera and also with Woods as the host, the Genesis Invitational has drawn a strong field, which includes nine of the top 10 players in the World Golf Rankings.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who this week regained the No. 1 spot in the world, will be there along with second-ranked Brooks Koepka, who will be looking to regain the top perch.

Others among the top 10 in the world who will be at Riviera are third-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, fourth-ranked Justin Thomas, fifth-ranked Dustin Johnson, sixth-ranked Patrick Cantlay, the eighth-ranked Woods, ninth-ranked Xander Schauffele and 10th-ranked Justin Rose of England.

The only player in the top 10 missing is seventh-ranked Webb Simpson.

Former winners of the tournament who will be playing at Riviera this week include Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and defending champion J.B. Holmes.

However, as always, most eyes will be on the tournament host who can make history.

BEST BETS

1. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland – Having taken the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings at the start of the week, the defending FedEx Cup champion has already won in the 2019-20 season at the WGC-HSBC Champions. McIlroy, who had three other victories last year, makes his fourth start at Riviera and tied for fourth last season.
2. Jon Rahm, Spain – The No. 3 player in the world has posted three straight top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including second in the Farmers, and also won the DP World Tour Championship-Dubai in November to capture the Euro Tour’s Race to Dubai. He made his first appearance at Riviera last year and wound up in a tie for ninth.
3. Justin Thomas, United States – The early-season FedEx Cup points leader thanks to victories in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges and the Sentry TOC plus a tie for third in Phoenix, Thomas is No. 4 in the world rankings and could be on his way to the top. He’s making his fifth start at Riviera, having tied for second last year and tied for 19th in 2018.
4. Dustin Johnson, United States – The fifth-ranked DJ has finished in the top 10 in seven of his 12 appearances at Riviera, including a five-stroke victory in 2017 and two runner-up finishes. Johnson tied for seventh in the Sentry Tournament of Champions to start the new year, but closed with an ugly 78 to tie for 32nd last week at Pebble Beach.
5. Brooks Koepka, United States – Having lost the top spot in the rankings to Rory McIlroy, Koepka would like to jump right back on top with a victory, but he missed the cut in his only start at Riviera in 2017. Recovering from a knee injury, he tied for 17th in the Saudi International and tied for 34th recently in Abu Dhabi recently on the Euro Tour.
6. Xander Schauffele, United States – Ranked ninth in the world, Schauffele has finished second twice in the early season and seemed headed for a fourth top-10 result until he closed with a 74 to tie for 16th in Phoenix two weeks ago. This will be his third appearance at Riviera, and he tied for ninth in 2018 before tying for 15th last season.
7. Patrick Cantlay, United States – Missed a third top-10 finish this season when he finished with a 73 in the wind at Pebble Beach last week to tie for 11th, but has only two PGA Tour victories and probably needs to win more to move up from No. 6 in the world. A star at nearby UCLA, he tied for fourth at Riviera in 2018 and tied for 15th last year.
8. Phil Mickelson, United States – After missing the cut in his first two events of the year, Lefty tied for third in the Saudi Invitational and was solo third at Pebble Beach the last two weeks. Two of his 14 PGA Tour victories in California came in 2008 and 2009 at Riviera, where he his making his 14th start, and he also was second in 2007 and 2012.
9. Tiger Woods, United States – The tournament host has never won in 11 starts at Riviera, but he hasn’t played badly with eight finishes in the top 20, plus a playoff loss when the event was played at Valencia Country Club in 1998. In two official events this season, Woods won the Zozo and tied for ninth in the Farmers. Next win will be No. 83.
10. Justin Rose, England – Best finish in 11 starts at Riviera was a tie for fourth in 2017, playing the weekend in 65-68. Has four finishes of 16th or better in last five appearances. Played only twice this season, tying for 28th in the WGC-HSBC and missing the cut in the Farmers, but wants to be fresh for his Gold Medal defense in the Tokyo Olympics.

OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH: Sergio Garcia, Spain; Patrick Reed, United States; Francesco Molinari, Italy; Bryson DeChambeau, United States; Marc Leishman, Australia; Paul Casey, England; Hideki Matsuyama, Japan; Jordan Spieth, United States; Danny Willett, England; Adam Scott, Australia; J.B. Holmes, United States.

SLEEPERS

1. Carlos Ortiz, Mexico – Was T-9 at Riviera last year and no worse than T-26 in three starts. Has T-2 at Mayakoba, T-4 in Houston and Sanderson Farms this season.
2. Scottie Scheffler, United States – Two-time winner on 2019 Korn Ferry Tour has solo third in AmEx, T-3 in Bermuda, T-5 in RSM, T-7 at Greenbrier this season.
3. Joaquin Niemann, Chile – Won opener at Greenbrier and had T-5 in Sentry TOC. Made first start at Riviera last year and shot 66 in round two, but finished T-44.
4. Andrew Putnam, United States – Went to nearby Pepperdine so he knows Riviera. Has T-10 in American Express, T-18 Shriners and T-20 in the CJ Cup this season.
5. Matthew NeSmith, United States – Won on the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour and has finished T-11 at Pebble, T-14 at RSM, T-17 in AmEx and T18 in Shriners this season.

For first-round tee times, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html