The 2023 Genesis Invitational will be played at Riviera Country Club this week for the 60th time, and it marks the 1st official PGA Tour event of the season for Tiger Woods, who is also the tournament host. The 1st round tees off Thursday morning in Los Angeles.
Below, we search for the best value prop bets among the 2023 Genesis Invitational odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
Jon Rahm comes to Riviera as the betting favorite (+750) for the 2nd straight week after nearly winning last week’s WM Phoenix Open. Scottie Scheffler, who won in Phoenix on Sunday, is in the field along with Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau. Last year’s winner, Joaquin Niemann has joined the LIV Golf tour.
Riviera Country Club is notorious for its narrow fairways, doglegs and smaller greens, which makes it a real test. Quality ball striking and creativity around the greens are essential because of how tight the course is. It’s also got some length to it, playing at 7,322 yards as a par 71.
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Genesis Invitational – Top-5 picks
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 1:31 p.m. ET.
Justin Thomas (+330)
Thomas is a great fit for Riviera, given his ability to shape the ball and flight both high and low, depending on what the hole demands. He’s never won here, but has 3 top-10s in 8 appearances, including a 6th-place finish last year.
Rory McIlroy (+200)
Time to bet a bounce-back for Rory? His putter failed him in Phoenix last week, but his ball striking will keep him in contention at Riviera. He has 3 top-10s in his last 4 starts at the Genesis, so he’s found himself near the top of the leaderboard in the past.
Max Homa (+425)
Homa has no weaknesses to his game. He’s a great iron player and when he does miss greens, he has the short game to get up-and-down for par. He’s lit it up at Riviera the last 3 years, finishing T-5, T-10 and a win in that stretch.
Other T5 contenders (in order from longest odds to shortest):
- Adam Scott (+1000)
- Will Zalatoris (+750)
- Viktor Hovland (+550)
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Genesis Invitational – Top-10 picks
Viktor Hovland (+280)
Hovland has tied for 4th and 5th in his 1st 2 starts in the Genesis Invitational the last 2 years, showing the ability to keep the ball in the fairway and hit a lot of greens. He already has 2 top-10s in his first 6 starts this season, too.
Tony Finau (+170)
Finau has finished 2nd twice in this tournament, nearly coming away with a win at the marquee event in L.A. He’s shown he has a complete game now, with 5 top-25 finishes in 6 starts already this season, including 3 top-10s.
Jordan Spieth (+320)
Spieth looked good for a few days at the Phoenix Open before he faded on Sunday, but he still managed to finish 6th. His touch around the greens will be a major factor this week at Riviera, which is the primary reason to consider taking him for a top 10.
Other T10 contenders (in order from longest odds to shortest):
- Jason Day (+380)
- Scottie Scheffler (+125)
Genesis Invitational – Top-20 picks
Adam Scott (+200)
I’m all in on Scott this week. You could make the case he has the best track record of any player in the field at Riviera, with 7 top-10 finishes in 14 appearances and only 1 missed cut. He won in 2020 and tied for 4th last year, seemingly playing well no matter how he’s performing coming into L.A.
Rickie Fowler (+240)
Fowler’s odds are likely to keep getting shorter by the week because he’s playing some great golf right now. He already has 4 top-25s in 7 starts this season and is coming off a top-10 at the Phoenix Open. Keep riding the wave.
Other T20 contenders (in order from longest odds to shortest):
- Nick Taylor (+320)
- Seamus Power (+300)
- Max Homa (+105)
Genesis Invitational – Matchups
Suggested play is golfer in bold.
Will Zalatoris (-110) vs. Tom Kim (-110)
In this matchup, we’re going with the course experience because that is a factor at Riviera. Zalatoris has played this event 3 times and though he missed the cut in 2015, he tied for 15th and 26th the last 2 years. This will be Kim’s 1st appearance.
Patrick Cantlay (+115) vs. Collin Morikawa (-135)
Cantlay hasn’t impressed this season, missing the cut in Phoenix. Morikawa shockingly did the same, looking lost with his irons last week. Let’s take the value with Cantlay and fade Morikawa; Cantlay has never finished worse than T-33 in the last 5 years.
Genesis Invitational – Top Australian
Adam Scott (+210)
Jason Day (+155) is the favorite to be the top Australian, with Lucas Herbert (+350) and Cam Davis (+450) the others in the field. But I’ll go with Scott, who never misses this event and always seems to play well here. The course fits his game and he’s more than comfortable hitting out of Kikuyu grass.
Genesis Invitational – 1st-round leader
Justin Thomas (+3000)
Thomas seemed to find something in the final round of the Phoenix Open, firing a 6-under 65 to vault up the leaderboard. Let’s take him to ride that momentum into Riviera.
Cameron Young (+4000)
Young tied the 2nd-lowest score in the 1st round here last year, shooting 66 on Thursday to immediately put himself in contention. He finished tied for 2nd, helped by a 62 in Round 2.
More expert prop bet predictions
Group D winner: Adam Scott (+400)
Shockingly, Scott has the worst odds in this group. Matt Fitzpatrick (+300), Day (+320), Hideki Matsuyama (+320) and Tyrell Hatton (+380) all have better odds than Scott despite his incredible track record at Riviera.
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