Genesis Invitational Daily Fantasy Picks and Predictions: Best Bets From Each Price Range
Genesis Invitational Daily Fantasy Picks and Predictions: Best Bets From Each Price Range
L.A. will remain the sporting capital of the world for another week as many of the best players in the world pull into town for the annual Genesis Invitational. The field is rather succinct at just over 120 players who received an invite from the committee, cosigned by one Tiger Woods. This is one of the more classic and consistent courses we see every year. For the most part, you know exactly what you are going to get at Riviera Country Club, a demanding examination of putting the clubface squarely on the back of the ball!
I have plenty of notes from previous years, but one that I always weight heavily is to analyze a players scrambling, around the green game, and putting specifically at this course vs. their norm. There are some Augusta-like comparisons where some players have a better understanding of how to play these unique greens than others. Course history tends to stick here so we will look to isolate players who have shown previous success. We are back on the always tricky POA greens, which provide some volatility particularly on shorter putts. Some players who are typically known as poor putters, I give a bump this week because with the volatility on 5 foot putts it leads to mitigating their weakness.
Expect to see plenty of three putting and bogeys this week, as this course does a fantastic job of rewarded great aggressive shots, and penalizing those off-line. I am weighting recent SG: ballstriking and approach numbers over anything else as they reign supreme at the Riv. Here are my favorite DFS Picks for each price range this week!
Click here for Genesis Invitational odds
Genesis Invitational DFS Picks
$10k+ Range: Dustin Johnson $10,200
The true horse for the course. DJ Ranks number one SG: Total and Draftkings Points at Riviera Country Club over the 8 years at this event. He shows up this year a bit of a mystery in terms of form, but ready to peak at his favorite stop on the schedule. His number tick up across the board at this tournament, and I found it highly encouraging that he gained 8.3 strokes Tee to Green at the Farmers 3 weeks ago. He lost 2.2 putting that week, but he ranks 5th in SG: Putting specifically at the Genesis. He's poised and more than due!
$9k+ Range: Xander Schauffele $9,900
I took the lowest priced in the 10k range so I could splurge here. I'll be the first to admit, the somewhat cringeworthy putting performance last Sunday and yet another letdown had me worried, but he struck it beautifully. The shot he hit on 18 from the rough would have been heroic had he knocked in the 10 footer after. He's consistently been one of the premier ballstrikers on the PGA Tour after once again being at the top last week. We're on a run of players getting the trophy monkey off their back, and I have to believe it's coming soon for Xander.
$8k+ Range: Will Zalatoris $8,800
Speaking of guys who are due, I'm going to eat the chalk and click Will Zalatoris this year. He will be a popular selection given his 2nd place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and propensity to elevate his game on demanding courses that require elite ballstriking. He ranks top 5 in SG: Tee to Green, Bogey Avoidance, and Greens in Regulation hit. The only unknown is that he is coming off of a Covid WD at Pebble which may play a small role in his ownership.
$7k+ Range: Adam Hadwin $7,100
Hadwin has been trending in the right direction and possesses a number of the attributes I am honing in on this week. He hits a solid percentage of greens in regulation and has a savvy around the green game which helps him avoid too many big numbers. His numbers in terms of scrambling and putting are elevated when he shows up at Riviera CC and he returns this week with top 26 finishes in three of his last 4 events.
$6k+ Range: Cam Davis $6,700
A bit of a "zag" here as Davis isn't going to pop off the screen in most stat models this week. That said, I always love his aggressiveness which presents upside if he can get through the cutline. Adam Scott has mentioned previously how the grass and course setup lines remind him of courses along the sandbelt in Austrailia. Davis, also familiar with those setups, should be able to capitalize if he can get off to a good start on Thursday. He has plenty of upside with the putter and Driver, so if he can chip well when he misses the surface than we could see a Sunday run.
Thanks once again for reading and good luck this week!
Joe Idone's PGA Tour DFS Picks
- Cuts Made: 97/115
- Winners Picked: 7