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The Genesis Invitational closes the 2023 west coast swing and sees another elite field, most travelling from Scottsdale to Los Angeles. World Number 1 Rory McIlroy heads them, with Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick all in the field. That makes the 9 of the top 10 in the OWGR all present in Los Angeles, this week. With the Genesis Invitational now organised by TGR Live (Tiger Woods Foundation), plus having elevated PGA Tour status, it’s no surprise to see such a stellar field attend Riviera Country Club.
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Course Guide: Riviera is a stretching 7,322 yard, 35-36 Par 71 old-style golf course. Nicknamed ‘Hogan’s Alley’, it’s a classical course which features tight, uneven tree-lined fairways, plus fast green complexes that average 7,500 square feet and feature plenty of surrounding run-off areas for overly aggressive or wayward approach shots. The course itself favours longer hitters, where finding fairways is extremely difficult – although the penalty tends to be the danger of blocked approach shots rather than thick, lush rough. The course features some of the deepest bunkers on Tour and fairway positioning is key as approach shots can be blocked by trees. Every season Riviera plays as one of the hardest courses to hit greens, and putting is difficult especially from 10 feet and in on the fast Poa Annua greens.
Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California: Designer: Neville and Thomas 1926 with Fazio re-design 2008; Course Type: Classical, Medium Length; Par: 71; Length: 7,322 yards; Holes with Water Hazards: 0; Fairways: Kikuyugrass; Rough: Kikuyugrass 2″; 7,500 sq.ft average featuring Poa Annua; Tournament Stimp: 12ft; Course Scoring Average 2012: 72.22 (+1.22), Difficulty Rank 7 of 49 courses. 2013: 71.85 (+0.85), Difficulty Rank 11 of 43 courses. 2014: 71.21 (+0.21), Rank 24 of 48 courses. 2015: 72.59 (+1.59), Rank 5 of 52 courses. 2016: 71.03 (+0.03), Rank 21 of 50 courses. 2017: 71.01 (+0.01), Rank 23 of 50 courses. 2018: 71.76 (+0.76), Rank 9 of 51 courses. 2019: 71.20 (+0.20), Rank of 10 of 49 courses. 2020: 71.26 (+0.26), Rank 10 of 41 courses. 2021: 71.21 (+0.21), Rank 17 of 51 courses. 2022: 70.46 (-0.54), Rank 21 of 50 courses.
Course Designer Links: For research purposes, other Tom Fazio designs include:
Atunyote GC – Turning Stone Championship 2007-10.
Caves Valley GC – BMW Championship 2021.
Congaree GC – Palmetto Championship 2021 + CJ Cup 2022.
Conway Farms GC – BMW Championship 2013, 2015, 2017.
Corales GC – Corales Championship.
Eagle Point – Wells Fargo Championship 2017.
Raptor Course Greyhawk GC – Fry’s.com Open 2008/09.
Riviera CC Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Riviera Country Club and how they compare to recent courses that we’ve seen on Tour:
Riviera: 250 yards from the tee: 33 yards wide; 275:27; 300:26; 325:26 350:28.
TPC Scottsdale: 250 yards from the tee: 33 yards wide; 275:30; 300:28; 325:27; 350:27.
Pebble Beach: 250 yards from the tee: 33 yards wide; 275:33; 300:29; 325:30 350:26.
Torrey Pines South: 250 yards from the tee: 26 yards wide; 275:27; 300:25; 325:24; 350:23.
Pete Dye Stadium: 250 yards from the tee: 29 yards wide; 275:27; 300:26; 325:26; 350:24.
Waialae: 250 yards from the tee: 34 yards wide; 275:32; 300:34; 325:37; 350:34.
Plantation Course: 250 yards from the tee: 59 yards wide; 275:61; 300:65; 325:60; 350:62.
Seaside Course: 250 yards from the tee: 42 yards wide; 275:40; 300:34; 325:31; 350:23.
TPC Summerlin: 250 yards from the tee: 35 yards wide; 275:37; 300:33; 325:30; 350:31.
CC of Jackson: 250 yards from the tee: 29 yards wide; 275:28; 300:29; 325:28; 350:25.
Silverado: 250 yards from the tee: 27 yards wide; 275:26; 300:24; 325:25; 350:24.
Course Overview: Riviera CC is one of the most classical and undulating golf courses in the United States. It tests the all-round game of a player and undoubtedly takes time to master. Riviera and Torrey Pines are the only courses on Tour to feature Kikuyugrass fairways and rough. This may sound technical but be aware that West Coast specialists, plus Australians and South Africans, have a distinct advantage playing on this.
Course experience is a real premium on this classical set-up which features a testing set of par-4s. It’s a course that can’t simply be overpowered, but the tournament as ever will be decided on the 12 looks at the par-5s. Most recent winners Merrick, Watson, Hahn, Watson again, Johnson, Watson again, Scott, Homa and Niemann shot -10 (-19/265), -11 (-11/273 winning total), -8 (-15/269), -6 (-6/278), -9 (-15/269), -7 (-17/267), -8 (-12/272), -5 (-11/273) and -11(-12/272) respectively on the par-5s. The only odd scoring performance away from this par-5 trend was J.B. Holmes (who else!) in 2019, who shot -6 -5 -3 across the par-3s, par-4s and par-5s.
With a host of dog-legs combined with 26 yard wide fairways at the 300 yard landing points, Riviera always ranks in the top 12 hardest fairways to hit on Tour. However with relatively low rough, the penalty for missing fairways is not a key factor this week on a course where getting close to the pin is tough even for players who hit the fairway. Getting the ball close here on approach is always very difficult, with Riviera traditionally ranking in the top 5 hardest for Proximity to Hole on the Tour.
Conditions-wise Pacific Palisades received a lot of rain in January and February, so we might see conditions just a tad greener than we often do here. Expect the standard high-teens victory total in my opinion.
Genesis Invitational Winners: 2022: Joaquin Niemann (-19); 2021: Max Homa (-12); 2020: Adam Scott (-11); 2019: J.B. Holmes (-14); 2018: Bubba Watson (-12); 2017: Dustin Johnson (-17); 2016: Bubba Watson (-15); 2015: James Hahn (-6); 2014: Bubba Watson (-15); 2013: John Merrick (-11); 2012: Bill Haas (-7); 2011: Aaron Baddeley (-12); 2010: Steve Stricker (-16).
2022: Joaquin Niemann 63-63-68-71 -19/265
2021: Max Homa 66-70-70-66 -12/272
2020: Adam Scott 72-64-67-70 -11/273
2019: J.B. Holmes 63-69-68-70 -14/270
2018: Bubba Watson 68-70-65-69 -12/272
2017: Dustin Johnson 63-69-68-70 -14/270
OWGR of Genesis Invitational Winners: 2022: Niemann 32; 2021: Homa 91; 2020: Scott 14; 2019: Holmes 100; 2018: Watson 117; 2017: Johnson 3.
Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | First Round Leader | Combined Stats | SG Stats.
Published Predictor Model: Our published predictor is available here.
You can build your own model using the variables listed on the left hand side. Top 10 of my published predictor are:- Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Scottie Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa and Jordan Spieth.
2022: Thursday: Sunny and breezy. High of 69. Wind NW 5-10 mph. Friday: Sunny. High of 71. Wind SW 5-10 mph. Saturday: Sunny. High of 67. Wind WSW 6-12 mph.
2021: Thursday: Sunny. High of 68. Wind NE 10-15 mph, with gusts to 20 mph. Friday: Sunny. High of 65. Wind SW 6-12 mph. Saturday: High of 63. Wind NNW 15-20 mph, with gusts to 35 mph. Play was suspended at 10:08 a.m. due to inclement weather (high winds), with all but the last group having teed off. Play resumed at 2:02 p.m. for a total delay of 3 hours, 54 minutes. The third round was delayed due to darkness at 5:45 p.m. with 23 players yet to complete their round. Those players will be back in position at 6:50 a.m. Sunday, with final-round tee times scheduled to begin at approximately 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. off split tees. Sunday: Sunny. High of 72. Wind SW 10-15 mph.
2020: Thursday: Sunny, with a high of 64. Light SE wind in the morning, switching to SW wind at 5-9 mph in the afternoon. Friday: Sunny with a high of 65. Wind SW 4-7 mph with gusts up to 10 mph. Saturday: Sunny with a high of 65. Wind SW 5-9 mph with gusts up to 12 mph. Sunday: Sunny with a high of 65. Wind SW 5-9 mph with gusts up to 12 mph.
2019: Thursday: Rain, with a high of 62. Wind SW at 15-25 mph, gusting to 30 mph. Weather caused a suspension of play at 7:30 a.m. Following the suspension of play, the weather rapidly deteriorated and officials announced that play would remain suspended until at least 1 p.m. and all first-round scores would be reset. After a seven-hour delay, the first round restarted at 1:40 p.m. and was suspended due to darkness at 5:34 p.m. Two inches of rain was recorded at Riviera between midnight Wednesday and the restart of round one. Friday: Clear in the morning with rain in the afternoon. High of 57. Wind WSW 10-18 mph. Saturday: Sunny, with a high of 62. Wind W at 10-20 mph. The second round resumed at 7:00 a.m. and was completed at 2:46 p.m. The third round began off both Nos. 1 and 10 tees at 3 p.m. and was suspended due to darkness at 5:45 p.m. Sunday: Partly cloudy with scattered showers. High of 59. Wind W 15-25 mph, with gusts to 30 mph. The third-round resumed at 6:45 a.m. and was completed at 11:10 a.m.
2018: Thursday: Sunny. High of 67. Wind SW 5-10 mph. Friday: Sunny. High of 70. Wind SW 10 mph. Saturday: Sunny. High of 70. Wind S 5-10 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 62. Wind SW 10-15 mph.
2017: Thursday: Partly cloudy, with a high of 64. Wind SW 7-12 mph. Friday: Due to inclement weather, round two was suspended for the day at 12:18 p.m. A total of 2.97 inches of rain fell from Friday morning to Saturday morning. Saturday: Scattered showers through early afternoon gave way to cloudy skies in the late afternoon. High of 61. Wind SSW 6-12 mph. Sunday: The third round resumed at 6:50 a.m. and was completed at 12:03 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high of 60. Wind SW 6-12 mph.
2016: Thursday: Early showers gave way to partly cloudy conditions in the morning before sunshine and mid-60 temperatures in the afternoon. Wind WSW at 8-16 mph. Friday: Mostly sunny and reasonably cool weather with temperatures moving into the mid-60s. Wind WSW at 6-12 mph. Saturday: Mostly sunny and pleasant after a cool start with temperatures climbing to near 70 degrees in the afternoon. Wind WSW at 4-8 mph. Sunday: Mostly sunny and pleasant with temperatures reaching the high 60s. Wind WSW at 4-8 mph.
Weather Forecast: The latest weather forecast for Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California is here.
Calm conditions will greet this high quality field in Los Angeles this week. With no real wind to speak of and sunny conditions throughout, the players can’t really ask for a better environment in which to play, although temperatures will be down on 2022: 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) across the 72 holes of play is cold by PGA Tour standards. We might see a change in turf conditions too as this area received plenty of rain across January and early to mid February. Whether it’s soft I doubt, but I’m not expecting real firm and fast conditions as we regularly see here.
Player Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the RSM Classic / DP World Tour Championship which includes both PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, where recorded. Player rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:
Top 25 SG Off The Tee: 1) Rory McIlroy; 2) Tyrrell Hatton; 3) Corey Conners; 4) Adrian Meronk / Collin Morikawa / Scottie Scheffler; 7) Viktor Hovland / Jhonattan Vegas; 9) Cameron Young; 10) Luke List / Keith Mitchell / Jon Rahm; 13) Lucas Herbert; 14) Joel Dahmen; 15) Keita Nakajima; 16) Sam Burns / Gary Woodland; 18) J.J. Spaun; 19) Jason Day / Xander Schauffele; 21) Patrick Cantlay; 22) Hayden Buckley / Brian Harman; 24) Will Zalatoris; 25) Tony Finau / Beau Hossler.
Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Tony Finau; 2) Collin Morikawa / Jon Rahm; 4) Justin Thomas; 5) Rory McIlroy / Scottie Scheffler; 7) Xander Schauffele; 8) Tyrrell Hatton; 9) Max Homa; 10) Corey Conners / Russell Knox; 12) Nick Hardy; 13) Rickie Fowler / Adrian Meronk; 15) Tom Hoge / Tom Kim; 17) Adam Svensson; 18) Alex Noren / Adam Scott; 20) Cameron Young; 21) Ben Taylor; 22) Seamus Power; 23) Viktor Hovland; 24) Adam Hadwin / J.T. Poston / Jhonattan Vegas.
Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Hideki Matsuyama; 2) Justin Thomas; 3) Adam Scott; 4) Sam Burns; 5) Wyndham Clark; 6) Tommy Fleetwood; 7) Matt Wallace; 8) Sungjae Im; 9) Max Homa; 10) Matt Fitzpatrick; 11) Si Woo Kim; 12) Rory McIlroy / Jhonattan Vegas; 14) Tony Finau; 15) Xander Schauffele; 16) Corey Conners / Taylor Montgomery / Seamus Power; 19) Thomas Detry; 20) Matt Kuchar / Justin Rose; 22) Keegan Bradley / Jon Rahm; 24) Tom Kim; 25) K.H. Lee / Chad Ramey / Adam Schenk.
Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Jon Rahm / Scottie Scheffler; 3) Rory McIlroy; 4) Tony Finau / Justin Thomas; 6) Tyrrell Hatton / Jhonattan Vegas; 8) Xander Schauffele; 9) Corey Conners; 10) Adrian Meronk / Adam Scott; 12) Hideki Matsuyama / Collin Morikawa; 14) Sam Burns; 15) Max Homa; 16) Viktor Hovland; 17) Tommy Fleetwood; 18) Cameron Young; 19) Seamus Power; 20) Sungjae Im; 21) J.T. Poston; 22) Patrick Cantlay / Wyndham Clark / Nick Hardy; 25) Brian Harman.
Top 25 SG Putting: 1) Alex Noren; 2) Adam Hadwin; 3) Max Homa; 4) Sam Burns; 5) Si Woo Kim; 6) Nick Taylor; 7) Lucas Herbert; 8) Lanto Griffin; 9) Luke Donald; 10) Will Zalatoris; 11) Matt Kuchar; 12) Xander Schauffele; 13) Rickie Fowler / Sungjae Im / Adam Scott; 16) Danny Lee / Doc Redman / Sahith Theegala; 19) Jason Day / Brian Harman / Denny McCarthy / Scottie Scheffler; 23) Sam Ryder; 24) Rory McIlroy / Jon Rahm.
Top 25 SG Total: 1) Jon Rahm / Scottie Scheffler; 3) Tony Finau; 4) Rory McIlroy / Justin Thomas; 6) Tyrrell Hatton / Xander Schauffele; 8) Max Homa; 9) Sam Burns; 10) Adam Hadwin / Alex Noren; 12) Viktor Hovland / Si Woo Kim; 14) Corey Conners / Collin Morikawa; 16) Hideki Matsuyama / Seamus Power / Adam Scott / Jhonattan Vegas; 20) Lucas Herbert / Sungjae Im; 22) Adrian Meronk / Nick Taylor; 24) Brian Harman; 25) Tommy Fleetwood / Justin Rose.
For a summary of the Strokes Gained Performances from this week’s field here at Riviera Country Club since 2016 click here.
Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the Strokes Gained Stats of the Genesis Invitational winners since 2016 gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this test:
2022, Joaquin Niemann (-19). SG Off the Tee: 17th, SG Approach: 1st, SG Around the Green: 2nd, SG Tee to Green: 1st, SG Putting: 26th.
2021, Max Homa (-12). SG Off the Tee: 2nd, SG Approach: 21st, SG Around the Green: 9th, SG Tee to Green: 3rd, SG Putting: 7th.
2020, Adam Scott (-11). SG Off the Tee: 17th, SG Approach: 3rd, SG Around the Green: 17th, SG Tee to Green: 3rd, SG Putting: 27th.
2019, J.B. Holmes (-14). SG Off the Tee: 37th, SG Approach: 6th, SG Around the Green: 33rd, SG Tee to Green: 11th, SG Putting: 1st.
2018, Bubba Watson (-12). SG Off the Tee: 17th, SG Approach: 11th, SG Around the Green: 6th, SG Tee to Green: 2nd, SG Putting: 21st.
2017, Dustin Johnson (-17). SG Off the Tee: 1st, SG Approach: 20th, SG Around the Green: 44th, SG Tee to Green: 2nd, SG Putting: 3rd.
2016, Bubba Watson (-15). SG Off the Tee: 16th, SG Approach: 3rd, SG Around the Green: 36th, SG Tee to Green: 5th, SG Putting: 11th.
Strokes Gained Tournament Skill Averages:
SG Off the Tee: 15th, SG Approach: 9th, SG Around the Green: 21st, SG Tee to Green: 4th, SG Putting: 14th.
Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of the Genesis Invitational since 2010 gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this classical test:
2022, Joaquin Niemann (-19). 297 yards (64th), 44.6% fairways (58th), 65.3% greens in regulation (14th), 33’8″ proximity to hole (5th), 76.0 % scrambling (10th), 1.55 putts per GIR (2nd).
2021, Max Homa (-12). 290 yards (51st), 57.1% fairways (3rd), 62.5% greens in regulation (5th), 42’4″ proximity to hole (33rd), 66.7 % scrambling (24th), 1.58 putts per GIR (1st).
2020, Adam Scott (-11). 305 yards (15th), 41.1% fairways (63rd), 72.2% greens in regulation (1st), 38’5″ proximity to hole (22nd), 60.0 % scrambling (46th), 1.69 putts per GIR (15th).
2019, J.B. Holmes (-14). 281 yards (41st), 51.8% fairways (59th), 72.2% greens in regulation (2nd), 38’5″ proximity to hole (31st), 70.0 % scrambling (17th), 1.67 putts per GIR (6th).
2018, Bubba Watson (-12). 304 yards (21st), 57.1% fairways (27th), 63.9% greens in regulation (7th), 36’4″ proximity to hole (10th), 69.2 % scrambling (20th), 1.65 putts per GIR (13th).
2017, Dustin Johnson (-17). 315 yards (1st), 51.8% fairways (45th), 77.8% greens in regulation (1st), 34’11” proximity to hole (10th), 81.3 % scrambling (5th), 1.70 putts per GIR (16th).
2016, Bubba Watson (-15). 295 yards (17th), 50.0% fairways (50th), 70.8% greens in regulation (7th), 32’6″ proximity to hole (6th), 76.4 % scrambling (4th), 1.73 putts per GIR (21st).
2015, James Hahn (-6). 287 yards (50th), 51.8% fairways (37th), 55.6% greens in regulation (28th), 36’11” proximity to hole (15th), 68.8 % scrambling (13th), 1.70 putts per GIR (14th).
2014, Bubba Watson (-15). 319 yards (1st), 62.5% fairways (8th), 70.8% greens in regulation (3rd), 31’3″ proximity to hole (5th), 71.4 % scrambling (16th), 1.65 putts per GIR (7th).
2013, John Merrick (-11). 299 yards (20th), 53.6% fairways (29th), 63.9% greens in regulation (24th), 33’9″ proximity to hole (11th), 65.4% scrambling (19th), 1.67 putts per GIR (8th).
2012, Bill Haas (-7). 280 yards (60th), 55.4% fairways (32nd), 50.0% greens in regulation (59th), 44’3″ proximity to hole (64th), 72.2% scrambling (1st), 1.72 putts per GIR (12th).
2011, Aaron Baddeley (-12). 277 yards (42nd), 50.0% fairways (57th), 72.2% greens in regulation (3rd), 35’0″ proximity to hole (21st), 80.0% scrambling (1st), 1.83 putts per GIR (54th).
2010, Steve Stricker (-16). 270 yards (37th), 69.6% fairways (29th), 66.7% greens in regulation (11th), 29’2″ proximity to hole (2nd), 75.0% scrambling (8th), 1.63 putts per GIR (3rd).
Tournament Skill Averages:
Driving Distance: 31st, Driving Accuracy: 38th, Greens in Regulation: 13th, Proximity to Hole: 18th, Scrambling: 14th, Putting Average 13th.
Let’s take a view from players as to how Riviera Country Club sets up and what skill-sets the course favours:
Joaquin Niemann (2022): “I’ve been here a couple times. Obviously I played the U.S. Amateur a couple years ago. I remember last year I played great golf the first two days, then the weekend I didn’t play good. I think it’s one of those courses that you do everything right; you have to hit it good off the tee, you have to hit your irons pretty good and you’ve got to putt unbelievable, especially on these type of greens because they’re so fast.”
“On 12 I knew I had like – I think I had like 200 front and I had a little window there that I had to cut it like 20, 30 yards with a 4-iron. Obviously he didn’t like the idea of that, but I felt pretty confident of that shot and I felt that I was able to do it. I hit actually a really good shot, just a little bit lower than I thought and it just didn’t carry that, but it was close to being pretty good.”
Max Homa (2021): “I know the golf course pretty well. I’ve been fortunate to play a few more times since college and it’s the grass I grew up on. Kikuyu, poa annua, it’s very, very comfortable for me.”
“I was patient. I did a lot of the things the same as yesterday. My touch wasn’t quite as good around the greens, left myself too many six- to eight-footers, but stayed patient, waited for some good numbers, took advantage when I had them at the end. Yeah, it felt very similar to yesterday, just kind of Riviera doing what it does. But the fairways are really firm, so it’s running. If you can hit the ball in the fairway, you’re going to have a pretty short club in. If you miss it in the rough, you’re going to have quite a bit longer in, it just stops it right away. It was similar to yesterday. Tough test. Some pins a little easier, but some pins much harder.”
“I didn’t make a bogey over the final 26 holes. I was proud of that. Fred Couples oddly enough has been texting me especially throughout this week and he told me Thursday or Friday that solid golf wins at Riviera and just keep playing solid, and I’ve been thinking about that ever since and especially on a day like today. Really difficult this morning when we came back out, made two great putts to start, kind of settled my nerves and I just was trying to be as solid as I could. My coach and caddie, Joe, we’ve had a mantra this week, position over perfection, so we were just trying to leave it in the best spot all week and I thought we did a really good job of that this week.”
Adam Scott (2020):“Yeah, I really just like a lot of the holes out here. You know, I stand on the tee very comfortable here, and shots into the green. Somehow I manage to putt generally well here when it’s one of the courses that guys struggle most on tour with. Something about it reminds me a lot of some golf in Australia, too, in areas. Just feel very comfortable every time I’m here.”
“I guess I scrambled well today. I think I got up and down five times out of five, so probably that. You know, it’s very tough here in the afternoons putting. Yesterday when I missed a green and I chipped them up, even good chips, it was hard to be sure you’re going to make them from inside that 10 feet, five feet, and missed a few. This morning when you could chip them up, you’re just a little more confident with the smoother greens. So my chipping and my putting was very solid out there this morning.”
“But I think with the putting, it’s a bit of both. I seem to not struggle too much on the greens here and I guess at least by the stats everyone else does compared to normal. I don’t know what it is because they putt on poa at other places, but maybe it’s just the undulation and it’s more difficult here. But I’ve kind of always been fairly comfortable on these greens.”
J.B. Holmes (2019): “I knew that it was going to get really windy in the afternoon and that’s what the weather had said. Always thought that would have been a better chance for me; usually when the conditions are crappy I do better. You never know out here. This is a tough golf course and you throw that kind of wind in there. But yeah, at one point it looked like, Brandon looked at me and said, Do you think Justin is going to get to 20 under, and I was like, You mean this round? He was playing unbelievable there that third round. You can’t just get up there and whack it when it’s blowing that hard. You’ve got to read wind and there’s a lot of slope on these greens. It’s not an easy golf course and you throw in winds like that. On 13 or 14, the par 3, I hit a 5-iron and it stays pretty good. He hits a 5-iron really good and a gust of wind comes up and he comes up like 15 yards short, and I think he hit it better than I hit mine. It’s very tough. Then when you get putting like that, it’s just not going to be fast anywhere.”
Bubba Watson (2018): “You know, there was a great champion that went bogey free on the weekend one time. But no, it’s a tough one because of the greens, because of this grass. We know late in the day you’re going to get some bounces that you don’t agree with, so it’s very difficult. You’ll hit a chip shot or an iron shot that you think is great, hits a little bounce and goes opposite or whatever, or your putt does that. So it’s very difficult and you’re going to make a mistake. It might not be a mistake by you, it might be the ball bounces the other way. So you’ve got to just keep fighting and hopefully you make more birdies than bogeys. This golf course stood the test of time. Nobody’s talking about changing it unless they mention a major involved with it. They added a tee on No. 2 a long time ago, a few years ago, and we never played it because No. 2 doesn’t need it. So when you think about history and not messing with the golf course, today, this day and age you can’t build a golf course like this. It stood the test of time. It’s the only golf course that has a perfect par 3 with a bunker in the middle of it. You know, it’s just a beautiful layout and it’s fun to play. You’ve got to hit shots from every different angle, you’ve got to move it right to left and left to right, so it’s just fun. Then the greens are the equalizer so it makes me look, I putt as good as the other guys.”
Jordan Spieth: “I mean, you can go back in your memory, and I can picture all the holes, I know where the pins are, I know where the breaks are on those greens. But you’ve still got to get on to the practice greens and then dial in the feel, dial in the speed. This poa annua putts differently than it did last week at the courses that we played there in Pebble Beach, and so you’ve got to be careful here. It can get away from you very quickly. And it’s hard to get below the hole. That’s the thing out here. So you start to go to the driving range and I’ll start to try and work on some shots where you kind of float ones in, work on a lot of shots that you can loft up in the air more than maybe you would do last week. So there’s still a lot of adjustments to be made, even if you are familiar with the place, because with the weather here compared to what it could be last week, normally it’s less wind here and it’s more positioning. You’ve got to be in the fairways, even with little rough, to be able to hold these greens. You start working on a lot of different shots.”
Rory McIlroy: “It’s a great golf course. We don’t play golf courses like this very often anymore on Tour, and it’s a real treat when you come to a golf course like this where it’s not overly long, you don’t have to really bomb it off the tee, but it’s real strategic. You’ve got to place your ball on the right sides of the fairways. You have to make sure you hit it to the right side of the greens. You really can’t short-side yourself here. You can’t really get it above the pin. It’s a real thinker’s golf course and it’s a real treat to play something like this because we don’t get to play them that often anymore. Especially those, I think I saw a stat the other day, that there was more 3-footers missed here than there was anywhere else last year, I think by a long way actually. Inside sort of five or six feet is going to be really important this week, because you’re not going to hit the amount of greens that you’re used to hitting. You hit 12 greens around here, you’ve done pretty well. So there will be a lot of those holing-out-type distances for pars that will be important. I think that’s one of the big things this week for me, and I’ve been trying to work on that.”
Bubba Watson: “Today obviously with the rain it was easier. The golf course is accepting shots. But this golf course, the history of this golf course, this is one of those golf courses that we talk about a lot, because of the history. There’s not much change around here. The golf course has stayed the same, same kind of grass, it’s not heavy rough. It’s basically getting the right bounce. You lands it six inches short, it stays short. You land it just on the green it could bounce over. It’s all about hitting the right trajectories, hitting the right line, and hopefully on certain pins, hitting the fairway so you can produce a little bit of spin. So your answer is: It’s just a traditional old school golf course that’s got a lot of history. I love it because of the history, and as you can see, there’s some trees down compared to where the first time I played here. I think I started playing here nine, ten years ago. And so you can spray it a little bit but still manage the golf course. But at the same time, you can hit fairways and manage the golf course. It’s one of those golf courses where it can bite you at any minute, but at the same time you can score and you can imagine a bunch of shots around the trees and around the greens.”
Path to Victory: Below are the end of round positions for the last 13 Genesis Invitational winners:
Shots From the Lead: Below are the last 13 Genesis Invitational winners and where they were positioned in terms of shots from the lead during the tournament:
For the record, here’s the breakdown of pure Poa Annua and Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:
4 – Jason Day, Max Homa, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm.
3 – Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth.
2 – Scott Piercy, Chez Reavie, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Nick Watney, Gary Woodland.
1 – Keegan Bradley, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Champ, Stewart Cink, Cam Davis, Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tony Finau, Emiliano Grillo, James Hahn, Tom Hoge, J.B. Holmes, Billy Horschel, Russell Knox, Matt Kuchar, Nate Lashley, Luke List, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Andrew Putnam, Scott Stallings, Nick Taylor, Justin Thomas, Kevin Tway.
There’s undoubtedly a form link between Riviera and a couple of other classical golf courses. The course here features Kikuyugrass fairways and rough, agronomy which is only shared with Torrey Pines, so it’s hardly a surprise to see that recent winners like Baddeley, Haas, Johnson, Merrick, Watson, Scott, Homa and Niemann had all previously finished 11th or better (Merrick’s was at the 2008 U.S. Open) down the coast in San Diego. 2015’s shock winner James Hahn doesn’t share that distinction, but he had finished 3rd on the Poa Annua greens at Pebble Beach in his rookie season of 2013. Steve Stricker, who won here in 2010, has no Torrey Pines form of note, however he’d finished 2nd at Riviera 12 months earlier showing he could handle the Kikuyu.
So I’m looking for upwardly mobile ball-strikers this week who have a penchant for playing positively at Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach or naturally here at Riviera. A high ball flight to hold fast greens, the ability to grind when scoring is tough, plus the ability to move the ball confidently both ways are also key attributes for me this week.
My final Genesis Invitational tips are as follows:
Collin Morikawa 2pts EW 22/1 (8EW, 1/5*) with bet365
I’ll stick with Collin Morikawa for a second consecutive week at a course which suits the 26 year old Californian well.
Patience on a particular player can very much be a virtue in this golf betting game and I probably like the World Number 9’s chances even more this week at Riviera, despite his MC last week in Phoenix. As we know, the Stadium Course and the party environment that goes along with it can eat golfers alive and Collin along with the likes of Cantlay, Fleetwood and Lowry never made the weekend in Arizona. However I’m still a believer in the theory that for a player of Morikawa’s ability, world ranking and winning mentality, no victory win for over 15 months is a huge motivating factor right now.
And across this field in my 8 tournament Strokes Gained tracker, he still ranks 4th for Off the Tee and 3rd for Approach. Riviera as a course suits accurate approach play far more than indiscriminate length off the tee and it’s also a course where more accurate driving can compute towards high ranking Strokes Gained Off the Tee performances. Sounds like the perfect set-up for Mr Morikawa. Indeed a look at our free to access Genesis Invitational Strokes Gained Analysis highlights that in this field Morikawa ranks 28th for Off the Tee, 2nd for Approach, 2nd for SG Ball Striking, 2nd for Tee to Green and 9th for Strokes Gained Total from 12 round played here.
2nd here 12 months ago behind Joaquin Niemann, Morikawa has already won at correlating classical courses in the form of Muirfield Village (2020) and TPC Harding Park (2020), both of which at the time featured Poa Annua greens. It’s also worth noting that Collin was born in Los Angeles, so the Genesis is a local tournament for him. RESULT: T6
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Sam Burns sparked into life over the weekend at the WM Phoenix Open. 64 on Saturday combined with 68 on Sunday tied with Justin Thomas and Nick Taylor for the best weekend scoring, and at an event where medium-priced players get the job done, Sam has to be a must-back this week. 4 PGA Tour wins at the age of 26 shows exactly what we are dealing with, but it’s where he’s won that really intrigues me when it comes to his chances this week at Riviera Country Club.
2021 saw Burns capture his maiden PGA Tour title on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, and let’s not forget that he also defended his Valspar Championship title there last year. Copperhead is a +7,300 yard, medium length, Par 71 which despite being in Florida, is Carolina-like in nature, featuring tree-lined fairways, plenty of dogleg holes and is pretty tough to play. May 2022 also saw his latest victory which came at the Charles Schwab Challenge, which they play at Colonial Country Club in Texas. Colonial again is medium in length, plays as a Par 70, and is very much an old-style, tree-lined, classical golf course. So when looking at this logically, a track like Riviera should suit Sam Burns down to the ground.
Indeed I’m sure many of you will remember the Genesis Invitational 2 years ago which was eventually won by Max Homa in a play-off which also included Tony Finau. Sam Burns, who was still a non-winner at the time, was very much a factor that week, firing 64-66 across Thursday and Friday to claim a 5 shot lead heading into the weekend. To his credit Sam still held a 2 shot lead going into Sunday where his final round 69 was just a single shot away from the play-off. 2 years down the line and 4 PGA Tour titles later, it’s clear that the University of Louisiana man has hit form – 6th last week – and must be looking forward to returning to Hogan’s Alley for what would undoubtedly be his biggest win to date. RESULT: MC
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Jordan Spieth 1.5pts EW 35/1 (8EW, 1/5*) with bet365
Jordan Spieth is another that jumps from the odds this week. At a bigger price than the likes of Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young – all of whom haven’t exactly ripped up trees on the PGA Tour in 2023 – I was amazingly impressed with Jordan at TPC Scottsdale last week. 6th was a strong finish where he ranked 2nd for Greens in Regulation, 2nd for Strokes Gained on Approach and 3rd for Strokes Gained Tee to Green. Intriguingly the last time he ranked so highly for both Approach and Tee to Green on the PGA Tour was back in April and May of last year, where he finished 1st at the RBC Heritage and 2nd at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Form here at Riviera Country Club is understated, but scratch under the surface and it actually gets better. 10 appearances have gleaned a 4th (2015) and a 9th (2018). He also has another couple of top-15 finishes. Fact is Spieth has been right in the mix here far more than results show. 6th after 54 holes, finishing 12th (2014); 4th after 54 holes, finishing 51st (2019); 6th after 36 holes, finishing 15th (2021); and 4th after 36 holes, finishing 26th (2022). The Texan does like to get involved here in Pacific Palisades.
A couple of wins across Pebble Beach (2017) and TPC River Highlands (2017) highlights a player comfortable enough on Poa Annua putting surfaces. RESULT: MC
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Keegan Bradley 1pt EW 75/1 (8EW, 1/5*) with bet365
The winning odds here over recent years make for fascinating reading. 2022: Niemann 75/1; 2021: Homa 60/1; 2020: Scott 33/1; 2019: Holmes 150/1; 2018: Watson 50/1. So slotting in some players with good recent form at bigger prices seems a very sensible angle to take. Keegan Bradley ticks plenty of boxes. 6th (Sanderson Farms), 1st (ZOZO Championship) and 2nd (Farmers Insurance Open) already this season, Keegan is undoubtedly enjoying a renaissance in his career. Up to 21st in the OWGR, Keegan undoubtedly has his eye on a place in Team USA’s Ryder Cup team and lets not forget that Bradley likes sterner golf courses, which are even short or medium length in terms of yardage.
He’s also got a strong results CV on Poa Annua greened golf courses. 4th (2017), 5th (2018) and 2nd (2022) plus 4 additional top 25 finishes at Torrey Pines works, especially as the La Jolla located course has Kikuyugrass rough. 1st (2012) & 2nd (2013) at Firestone South, 4th at Glen Abbey (2018), and 2nd at TPC River Highlands (2019) continue to highlight that Bradley is at his best on tree-lined golf courses. Positive Poa Annua results also make sense with Bradley’s Northeastern United States background.
2nd, 16th, 20th and 4th, here at Riviera between 2011 and 2015, when Bradley was at the peak of his powers, is an interesting angle, especially now as a confident and re-energised Keegan finds himself with his highest OWGR ranking since 2014. Was 14th here at the halfway stage last year and the Jupiter, Florida, 36 year-old is undoubtedly playing much better golf right now. RESULT: MC
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Wyndham Clark has been hitting the ball sweetly of late and he gets on very well with Riviera Country Club.
Never the sort to be top-notch with his approach play over the years, Clark has undoubtedly taken a step forward this season – and by a long way too. Season long Strokes Gained on Approach ranks of 181st, 188th, 185th and 173rd precede this season which has seen a tangible jump to 88th in the category. Individual tournament Approach ranks of 30th (CJ Cup), 21st (RSM) and 15th (Farmers) have been encouraging and that’s before last week at TPC Scottsdale where Wyndham ranked 9th for Approach and 11th for Tee to Green. For reference, that Approach performance was his best ever in 120 PGA Tour starts.
Now this is the point with Clark, who we all know is a long, if not accurate driver of the golf ball. He’s also an incredibly streaky putter. Inaccuracy here at Riviera doesn’t tend to be a massive problem as all players struggle to hit fairways. So a mix where Clark can be accurate with his irons linked to his excellent around the green and streaky short game is a recipe for success here at Pacific Palisades.
17th (2020) and 8th (2021) here across his 2 appearances to date highlights a player who likes Hogan’s Alley as he said here in 2020, “I really like how the trees shape the fairways. I grew up on poa annua greens and it’s a long golf course, it’s tough. I always liked challenging golf courses.” RESULT: T33
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2023 Majors Competition, Sponsored By bet365
