The Genesis Open will be held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. The field is stacked this year as it is every year with the top 11 players in the world getting ready to tee off this weekend.
I’ll take a look at the best players, how they’re doing on tour right now, who to bet, who to fade, and what I think will happen in this always exciting tournament.
Top Contenders
As I said before, the top 11 players in the world tee off at Riviera this weekend for an always fun tournament. The Par five first hole with an elevated tee-box is a fun and relatively easy hole as far as tour standards, and it will be fun to see these gentlemen grip it and rip it to start the day.
Part of the top 11 include world number one Jon Rahm, Colin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Justin Thomas. Included as well in the top 11 are young guns Viktor Hovland and Cameron Smith.
This is a big deal for the tournament, as getting all top 10 players to play in a non-championship tournament is especially rare.
World renowned players like Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Cameron Smith, and Tony Finau will all be joining the top ten guys at Riviera Country Club.
The Course
Riviera Country Club’s golf course was built in 1926 by George C Thomas Jr. It is a course that hosts a PGA tour event every season and was host to the 2017 U.S. Amateur tournament, but hasn’t held a major since the 1995 PGA Championship.
One of my favorite parts of this course is the uniqueness of strategies you can use to play it. Each hole has multiple approach options, and the first hole is the easiest, allowing for players to get off to a good start.
It then brings you straight into a long par four which has a green bunker that distracts players into hitting short. I’ll be looking to see who handles these first two holes well, and expect to see them thrive the rest of the tournament.
Be sure to check out our Daily Free Picks throughout the weekend.
Genesis Open Picks to Win + Sleeper Pick
My picks to win this tournament include one player in the top three and two more in the top 14. For me my number one pick is Collin Morikawa. I love this kid and he has the style of play to thrive on this course. He’s great at adjusting to weather and rough conditions, and his stroke is as clean as any on tour.
In addition to Morikawa at +1800, my other potential top 11 pick is Cameron Smith at +2200. Smith is top 11 in the world and is one of the best putters on tour. I expect Smith to start slow but putt consistently and be in the top 10 by rounds three and four.
My third and final bet here is world number 14 Jordan Spieth. Spieth only has one top ten finish this season at Pebble Beach, one of the most difficult but fun courses on the PGA tour. I just think Spieth has something to prove here and will get off to a hot start. Spieth at +3500 sounds great to me.
My sleeper pick for this tournament is Sergio Garcia at +6000. Sergio is a great golfer, and has been a model of consistency over three decades of playing on tour. He has only had one top ten finish this season so far, and has struggled hitting his approach shots this season. However, I expect him to bounce back soon, so why not this weekend?
