He’s baaaaack. This week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club has an absolutely stacked field, including last week’s WM Phoenix Open champ Scottie Scheffler and the GOAT Tiger Woods.
You read that right, TIGER IS BACK.
The golf world is always better when Tiger plays and for him to participate in a normal tour event is going to be a top notch experience for fans. This will be the first non-major event that the Big Cat has played since October of 2020 and is the first time we’ve seen him in a PGA tour event since The Open at St. Andrew’s in July. If this tweet didn’t fire you up, not only are you not a golf fan, but you are not a friend of the Loon.
One year ago, this tournament honestly wasn’t even fun to watch. Joaquin Niemann(disavow) completed a wire to wire win, which included back to back 63’s to open the tournament. As impressive as this was to watch, I remember tuning out of this event before I left work on Friday afternoon. The defending champ won’t be in Cali this time around as he took the bag of dirty money and ran with the rest of those jokers to LIV. Honestly, it’s a shame to see such an exciting young player like Joaquin sell out this early in his career. His buddy Mito Pereria, who is best known for falling to pieces on the last hole at the PGA Championship last year and who was long rumored to be joining him on the LIV tour, has officially jumped ship now too.
Regardless, this field is loaded. With 19 of the top 20 players in the world teeing it up this week. Furthermore, for a second straight week we have an elevated event with a purse totaling $20 million, $3.6 to the winner. The money is big, the players are strong, and the course is top tier.
Full Swing:
The Full Swing golf documentary officially premiered today and so far it is living up to the hype. This documentary is going to be a great way for people to see different sides of the golfers involved, and get involved with the personalities in pro golf. These guys are entertaining and deserve some spotlight. The added bonus will be the lights it sheds on the LIV golf situation. It should be must see TV for any casual golf fan.
The Course:
One of the most iconic courses on tour, Riviera CC is always a challenging track for the best in the world. The course plays at a par 71 at 7,322 yards. Given the length of the course, hitting the long ball and scrambling are going to be key as players may have to give the ball some extra juice which can often lead to missing the green. For those of us that like to watch the pros struggle (myself included) this event will force them to grind a little more than normal. As the cut line has been over par every year at this event over the last 10.
THE PICKS:
Top 20:
Magz: Sungjae Im -105
Before the people start asking, the answer is no, Sungjae Im does not have any type of sponsorship with The Loon. He merely happens to be an enigma on the golf course that constantly deserves to be bet on. Sungjae plays great on par 5’s, he finished T33 last year, and ranks first in the field in bogey avoidance. A key stat here at Riviera.
Magz: Adam Scott +190
Game respects game and with Adam Scott being 13 for 14 on cuts made at this event, I have to take him at these odds for a top 20. This is a bonus pick and I am putting my record at risk to make this happen, but I will make that risk for Adam and his different shades of brown sweaters. He may not have played much this year but we are looking at that as a positive, he’s rested and ready for a smooth T16 so we can all make some money.
Beast: Sam Burns +115
Burns is the type of player who can get blistering hot for weeks on end, similar to Tony Finau. So far this season he’s been kind of quiet, however he finished the weekend in Scottsdale with a 64-68 en route to a T-6 finish. Riviera is known for its small greens so there’s no doubt scrambling will be a key to success this week, Burns ranks third in scrambling this season. He’s a proven player here at Riviera, holding the 36 hole scoring record. At better than even money I like Sammy’s odds to stay hot and finish inside the Top 20.
Top 10:
Magz: Max Homa +190
The number one player in the PGA Tour’s power rankings for this event is somehow still +190 to make the top 10. I’m supposed to not take those odds? Max is a hometown kid and won here in 2021. Not to mention he has been playing incredible golf lately with 10 of hist last 11 rounds under par.
Beast: Collin Morikawa +200
Collin’s been playing really good golf this year, flirting with wins at The Sentry and The Farmer’s. He’s no doubt one of the best iron players on tour and this season his driving accuracy ranks second as well. The stars may be aligning here at Riviera for Collin’s first victory of the season in his home town of LA, however I’m still having flashback to his all time meltdown at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. I’ll play this safe and take his odds at finishing Top 10 until he can prove he’s got that winner’s mindset back.
Outright Winners:
Magz: Tony Finau +1600
Tony came to play this week. T33 finish last year just like Sungjae, shows he is comfortable here. Tony ranks 3rd on tour in scoring average and we are all aware of the damage he can do when he gets going tee to green. His odds stick out a little considering his 5 straight made cuts here and his success when driving the ball is a key factor.
Beast: Patrick Cantlay +2500
Patrick Cantlay, who headlined our list of potential villains, has been pretty quiet to start the 2023 season. Nonetheless, he’s still one of the best players in the world and I really like his chances this week with longer odds than normal. He’s made 5 straight cuts at Riviera, including 4 top 20’s and he’s the best on tour so far this season at hitting greens in regulation. Give me the California native over anyone else this week.
Records YTD:
Magz: -3.8U YTD, +0.5U last week
Beast: -8.5U YTD, -3.5U last week
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