Riviera Country Club hosts the PGA Tour’s best event of the season thus far in this week’s Genesis Invitational. Eight of the top-10 golfers from the Official World Golf Ranking are part of the 120-man field. Below, we rank the best fantasy golf options for the 2020 Genesis Invitational.
Genesis Invitational: Fantasy Golf Top 30
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.
30. Marc Leishman
The Farmers Insurance Open champion has had mixed results over his last five appearances at Riviera CC, with three missed cuts and two top-5 results. He has been erratic with the driver of late and won’t have much room for error here.
29. Jordan Spieth
Typically reliant on his putter, Spieth gained 7.8 strokes from tee-to-green at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am en route to a ninth-place finish. He’ll need to stay in control of his driver.
28. Jason Kokrak
Still looking for his first PGA Tour victory, Kokrak was a co-runner-up here in 2016, and he hasn’t missed the cut in any of his last five appearances. He’s coming off a week of rest, as he returns to one of his favorite courses.
27. Joaquin Niemann
Niemann opened the 2019-20 season with a victory at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. His only top-10 result since was a T-5 at the 30-man Sentry Tournament of Champions, but the expert ball striker is a strong fit for his second attempt at Riviera.
26. Matthew Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick will play on the PGA Tour for the second week in a row after a T-60 finish at Pebble Beach. The five-time winner on the European Tour makes his debut at this event.
25. Kevin Na
Na was a co-runner-up in 2018 following a T-4 in 2017. He tied for 14th last week for his best finish since winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He’s one of the best in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green.
24. J.B. Holmes
The defending champ has ramped up his play coming into the week with three straight top-20 finishes. He has been excellent off the tee and with the driver, and he has been starting strong before fading over the weekend.
Also see: Genesis Invitational odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets
23. Sungjae Im
Im missed the cut in his debut at this event last year, but he won the Korean Tour’s Genesis Championship in mid-October for his third pro victory.
22. Abraham Ancer
The little-known 29th-ranked golfer in the OWGR is coming off a T-6 finish at the Saudi International following his runner-up result at The American Express. He finished T-44 here last year and T-68 in 2018.
21. Matt Kuchar
Kuchar isn’t a great course fit as a shorter hitter, but he’s strong around the greens and on par 4s. His best result at this event in the last five years was a T-8 in 2016.
20. Phil Mickelson
Lefty made a great run at defending his title at Pebble Beach, before ultimately falling behind eventual winner Nick Taylor. He won this event back-to-back in 2008 and 2009, and more recently finished T-6 in 2018.
19. Patrick Reed
Reed makes his first appearance here since a T-59 result in 2017. He’s one of the best on Tour around the greens, but he’ll need to improve off the tee this week.
18. Collin Morikawa
The star sophomore will compete in one of the strongest fields of his pro career. He enters the week ranked 53rd by the OWGR. He just needs to be average around the greens and with his putter in order to compete.
17. Paul Casey
Casey was a co-runner-up in 2015, but while he made the cut each of the last four years, he hasn’t finished better than last year’s T-25. He can score low at these longer venues and there are eagle opportunities on this course.
16. Jason Day
Day finished T-64 in his only trip to Riviera in the last five years (2017). He finished fourth last week and seemed to recapture his expert play around the greens.
15. Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau tied for 15th last year for his best result in three appearances. He finished just 52nd at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, but he excelled off the tee, and it will shine through much more at Riviera.
14. Sergio Garcia
Sergio tied for sixth at the Saudi International and will participate in a PGA Tour event for the first time since the WGC-HSBC Champions. He ranks eighth in the field in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking over everyone’s last 50 rounds on courses measuring 7,200 to 7,400 yards, per my stat model at Fantasy National.
13. Tony Finau
Finau has the ability to overpower the long par 4s (450-500 yards), which are a common theme at Riviera. He’ll need to overcome another Sunday collapse at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
12. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama tied for ninth last year after skipping the 2018 event following a missed cut in 2017. He was previously T-4 in 2015 and T-11 in 2016 and clearly a fan of the course.
11. Xander Schauffele
Schauffele debuted with a T-9 result in 2018 and followed it up with a T-15 last year. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open but bounced back with a T-16 at the Waste Management Open before taking last week off.
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10. Justin Rose
Rose enters the week 10th in the OWGR after a missed cut at the Farmers. He skipped this event the last two years following a T-4 in 2017 and T-16 in 2016.
9. Tiger Woods
Tiger will take his second try at his record-breaking 83rd career PGA Tour victory. He hasn’t done particularly well at this event since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1998 (at Valencia Country Club) and 1999, but he can score low and is in top form with his irons.
8. Bubba Watson
Watson has three wins here since 2014. He’s coming off a T-3 in Phoenix following his T-6 at the Farmers to open his 2020 season. He has the driving distance, and he has been putting very well through those two events.
7. Adam Scott
Scott has gained more strokes per round at Riviera than all but two others in this field among those with at least 10 rounds played, according to Data Golf. He’ll tee it up for the first time since his win at the Australian PGA Championship.
6. Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay tied for fourth in his debut at Riviera in 2018 and followed it up with a T-15 last year. He’s one of the top ball strikers in the field and he excels on the long par 4s.
5. Brooks Koepka
Koepka will participate in his first event ranked something other than first in the OWGR since the 2019 PGA Championship, after he gave way to Rory McIlroy Monday morning. He missed the cut in his lone appearance here over the last five years (2015), but he certainly has the motivation this time around.
4. Dustin Johnson
Johnson won this event by five strokes at 17-under par in 2017. He has two other top 5s, another top 10 and a T-16 in his other four visits to Riviera in the last five years. No one in the field has averaged more strokes gained per round at this venue.
3. Rory McIlroy
McIlroy, the new world No. 1, ranks second to Johnson in strokes gained at Riviera over his 12 rounds played. He tied for fourth last year after finishing T-20 in 2018 and 2016.
2. Jon Rahm
Rahm hasn’t missed the cut in a PGA Tour event since last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge, and he hasn’t finished worse than T-13 in that time, either. He has been as steady as they come, and he shines in these fields.
1. Justin Thomas
Thomas gave this tournament away to Holmes last year with a Sunday round of 75 in poor weather. He has finished in the top 10 each of the last two years and has already won twice in the 2019-20 season.
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