BUBBA WATSON 40/1 - PP 8 PLACES
KEVIN NA 66/1 - PP 8 PLACES
TAYLOR GOOCH 55/1 - PP 8 PLACES
ADAM SCOTT 40/1 - PP 8 PLACES
WILL ZALATORIS 30/1 - BETFAIR 8 PLACES
CAMERON SMITH 25/1 - WILLIAM HILL 8 PLACES
ALL BETS PLACED ARE £5EW
The Genesis Invitational
The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played 96 years ago in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in February at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, it is often the concluding event of the tour’s “West Coast Swing” early in the calendar year, before the tour moves east to Florida.
The tournament has been held at Riviera on a near-continuous basis since 1973. South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Group, through its Genesis Motors subsidiary, took over sponsorship in 2017, after nine seasons from Northern Trust Corporation, based in Chicago, following a 21-year sponsorship by Nissan Motors. Entertainer Glen Campbell was the celebrity host of the Los Angeles Open from 1971 through 1983.
Riviera Country Club
The Riviera Country Club is a private club with a championship golf course and tennis courts in the Los Angeles, California neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades, in the Westside of Los Angeles.
The Riviera was designed by golf course architects George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell, it has been the primary host for the Genesis Invitational (originally the Los Angeles Open), an annual event on the PGA Tour in February. The 2021 edition was the 58th held at Riviera.
The Riviera has hosted three major championships: the U.S. Open in 1948, and the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995. In addition, it was site of the U.S. Senior Open, a senior major, in 1998 and the U.S. Amateur in August 2017. The club is scheduled to host the Olympics in 2028.
Course Set Up
The greens at Riviera are Poa annua, common for the West, but the fairways and rough are Kikuyu grass. A tough, dense pasture grass originally from East Africa, it had been used at a nearby polo field in the 1930s and was also planted on hillsides to prevent erosion. Over the years, it gradually invaded the course and became the dominant species. Kikuyu provides optimal lies on close-mown fairways, but is very challenging in the spongy rough.
The course is a par 71, at a length of 7,013 yards (6,413 m) from the back tees (which has been lengthened to 7,322 yards (6,695 m) for Tour play), 6,531 yards (5,972 m) from the middle tees, and 5,907 yards (5,401 m) from the forward tees. The men’s slope ratings are 74.6/135 and 72.2/130 for the back and middle tees, respectively. The ladies’ slope rating is 74.3/142 for the forward tees.
The course record for competitive play is 61, ten under par, shot by Ted Tryba in 1999 in the third round of the Nissan Open, and included a bogey on 18. Tryba was the runner-up that year to Ernie Els. The course record for the lowest nine holes is 28 (seven under par on the front nine), shot by Andrew Magee in the opening round in 1991 (followed by a 38 on the back nine for a 66). He finished the tournament four strokes back, tied for eighth.
Past Results
2021 Max Homa 272 −12 Playoff Tony Finau
2020 Adam Scott 273 −11 2 strokes
Genesis Open
2019 J. B. Holmes 270 −14 1 stroke
2018 Bubba Watson 272 −12 2 strokes
2017 Dustin Johnson 267 −17 5 strokes
Northern Trust Open
2016 Bubba Watson 269 −15 1 stroke
2015 James Hahn 278 −6 Playoff Paul Casey
2014 Bubba Watson 269 −15 2 strokes
2013 John Merrick 273 −11 Playoff Charlie Beljan
2012 Bill Haas 277 −7 Playoff Keegan Bradley
Our Picks
ADAM SCOTT 40/1
A must for us here this week is Adam. We caught up with him last year at the BMW Wentworth and his caddie at the time did say his golf was as good as it has very been and he was not wrong. I have been following a lot of late and the game seems as strong as ever. Coming off a run of cuts made on the PGA Tour and the WM Phoenix Open was pretty impressive finishing with three birdies in his last four holes.
The distance off the tee is one of his strengths and combined with an amazing short game he fits this course so well.
I do not think many people will back him here this week so we should great some great odd value we are around 60’s at the moment so all over this.
Winner here in 2005 and 2020 he could be adding another victory this week.
KEVIN NA 66/1
The walk in man we are all over this as well here this week.
Talk about a player with a lot of experience playing around here. His record is pretty good reading three top five’s here and has made the cut four out of his last five visits. So should pretty much carry on that trend again.
He is playing well and primed to get another PGA Tour victory soon, he is playing some of his best stuff and looks to be ready to win again. I just hope he can win it in open time as his playoff record is not the best only having won once in five attempts.
I good each way bet should see no worse than a top ten.
CAMERON SMITH
25/1
Well we all know what Cameron did for us back in Jan winning at the Sentry with odds o 30/1 BOOM!!!
As with most players after a win he went missed cut the following week so we were not too surprised. We caught up with him again at the Sony to congratulate him and he feels like this year could be a moving point in his career. He was looking forward to this event and also can’t wait to get back to Augusta this year.
He ticks so many boxes that will fit around here:
- SG – Approach to the Green .619 22ND PGA Tour
- SG – Putting .886 5TH PGA Tour
- SG – Tee to Green 1.129 20TH PGA Tour
- SG – Total 2.015 3RD PGA Tour
Well let’s face it with these stats he will pretty much fit in anywhere.
Again I feel he will be at least a top ten here could be win number two for the young Aussie in 2022 and us.
ODDS CHANGE 25/1 FROM 22/1 15/2/22
