The Genesis Invitational will take place at the Riviera Country Club. The 7300 yard par 71 course is quite a challenge with undulating fairways and hard and fast Poa annua greens. Driving accuracy is less important because the fairways are so hard. Players could hit the target and the ball could still roll in any direction. Instead, I’m looking for players who can throw bombs from the tee, have solid hits on the move, and move around the green.
Last week we beat Scotty Scheffler with a sweeping win at the Phoenix Open. Let’s see if we can do it again. Here are three of the top 20 players who can compete for an outright victory in the Genesis Invitational.
Xander Schauffele
Top 20 -115
Top 10 +150
Top 5 +335
To win +1600
The Schauffele is a versatile stick, but its best surface is on the Poa annua green. In his last 10 Poa annua tournaments played, Schauffele has finished in the top 20 in seven of the last eight. He also has a pretty solid track history, finishing in the top 20 on the Riviera four times out of the last five, including T13 last year. The most receptive part of his play is around the green (as opposed to what I’m aiming for). However, Schauffele has hit the green in three of the last four tournaments. With no major drawbacks, the Schauffele is a decent top 20 option at a fair price. Consistency is always important. Schauffele has been in the Top 13 three times in a row this year, getting hit in almost every category, and is one of the most consistent players to start the year.
Taylor Moore
Top 20 +350
Top 10 +750
Top 5 +1600
To win +10000
Despite being a tiered field, Moore is in a solid position in the top 20 with +350. Apart from the top 100 in the official world golf rankings, Moore is my candidate for at least the top 10. The Texas native finished T21 in this event last year and also has a really strong history on the Poa annua greens. In his last five Poa annua events, Moore missed the CUT only once with three top 20 finishes, including T11 in the Farmers Insurance Open and T15 in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Moore may not have the distance, but he approaches this event with a shot at the ball, scoring four strokes in a row. If he can maintain this level of driving and playing on the iron while scoring a few hits on his best surface at the same time, the top 20 is a live game.
Max Homa
Top 20 +105
Top 10 +175
Top 5 +350
To win +2000
The California native won this tournament in 2021. Homa is in the top 5 in number of hits received at the Riviera with T5, a win and T10 here in his last three matches. Overall, he is in the top 10 on the green and in the top 15 in scrambling. Fairways and greens will be missed, so I weigh both more. It’s always hard to support a player who has won in recent weeks (won the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago). But it’s too tempting to make money for a guy who excels in the West Coast tournaments and has won hits in all categories in three tournaments in a row. I want to support him at least in the top 20.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
