Best Bets at the 2021 Genesis Invitational

The PGA Tour will cap off its Pacific swing this weekend with the Genesis Invitational. This will be the seventh straight event in either Hawaii, California, or Arizona, as golf looks to stay away from the cold, harsh winter and move to more forgiving climates this time of year. Adam Scott is the defending champion, but he is a 35-1 longshot to repeat this year.

Event Details

Event: The Genesis Invitational

Category: PGA Tour

Date: February 18-21, 2021

Location: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California

Past Winners

2020: Adam Scott -11

2019: JB Holmes -14

2018: Bubba Watson -12

2017: Dustin Johnson -17

2016: Bubba Watson -15

Bubba Watson became the first person to win this event three times in their career since the great Arnold Palmer when Watson won here in 2018. He also claimed this title in 2014 and 2016, and all three of Watson’s wins have come in 72 holes.

The overwhelming favorite to win the 2021 Genesis Invitational is Dustin Johnson at +625. Johnson’s odds are twice as low as the next closest player (Jon Rahm), and he posted the best score here since 1990 when he finished 17-under on his way to winning the 2017 event. He won by five strokes, which was the biggest margin of victory on this course since 1986.

The Course

This is one of the oldest tournaments on the PGA Tour. It was founded in the 1920s, and it moved throughout southern California until permanently settling at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades in the 1970s. This was once known as the Los Angeles Open, and it was the first or one of the first events of the PGA Tour season for a long time.

Riviera CC is a par-71 golf course with three par 5s. The fairways here are notoriously difficult to hit, and just over 50 percent of fairways were reached in this tournament last year. However, the three par 5s are all extremely forgiving, as nearly half of all golfers were able to birdie these holes in 2020.

The distinct feature of Riviera is the bunker smack dab in the middle of the green on the par 3 sixth hole. It isn’t a big bunker, but it is front and center in golfers’ minds and creates some tricky shots. That has led to the green undulating and banking like a mini golf hole.

Value Play to Win the Tournament: Max Homa +6600

Max Homa is a very juicy longshot at 66-1. He is ranked the 91^st best golfer on the PGA Tour, but he could be primed to have a breakthrough this weekend in southern California. Homa is from Burbank and finished top five here in 2020. The 30-year-old has finished T21 or better in four of his last five events, and he is fresh off a T7 last week at Pebble Beach.

Top 5 Prop: Patrick Cantlay +350

This is a course where Cantlay can thrive. The UCLA graduate and Long Beach native is certainly familiar with Riviera. Cantlay finished fourth here in 2018 and also picked up T20 finishes the two following years, but he has yet to win at Riviera on the PGA Tour. He won the Zozo Championship at Sherwood 35 miles away from here back in October, and he finished runner-up at The American Express in Palm Desert last month.

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