2023 Genesis Invitational Preview, Field, Odds, and Picks

2023 Genesis Invitational Preview, Field, Odds, and Picks

If you haven’t heard yet, please allow me to break the news that Tiger Woods is making his return to the PGA Tour this weekend. While Woods will steal the media spotlight leading up to the Genesis Invitational, it’s worth noting that 23 of the world’s top 25 golfers will join him. 

Let’s dive into the course and the field and get a best bet locked in!

Click here to get over $5,000 worth of sports betting bonuses to use on the Genesis Invitational and any other sport!

2023 GENESIS INVITATIONAL COURSE

The “West Coast Swing” finishes up this weekend as the Tour makes its way to the beautiful Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. This will be the 24th consecutive year and 60th overall that the club has hosted the event. 

As for the course itself, it’s a par-71 course spanning an impressive 7,322 yards. Many golfers are in agreement that the Riviera can be one of the toughest places to play in terms of requiring precision shots. The slopes and the rough around the greens are unforgiving, which puts an emphasis on the approach game. Not to mention, the hole placement on some greens can completely change the way golfers attack a given hole, which certainly leaves its mark on the scorecards. This can be exemplified by the fact that over the past 23 years, we’ve seen winning scores range from -6 to -19.

Ultimately, it’ll be important for competitors to bring an open mind to the Invitational. Navigating this course successfully requires a nuanced perspective, and the Riviera requires just as much focus on the mental side of the game as the physical aspect.

2023 GENESIS INVITATIONAL PURSE

A whopping $20,000,000 is at stake in Los Angeles this weekend, matching the season-high purse of last weekend’s WM Phoenix Open. The tournament winner will collect a respectable share of $3,600,000. 

2023 GENESIS INVITATIONAL PREVIEW

Of course, the major headline this week will be Tiger Woods making his return to the Tour. He hasn’t teed off in a truly competitive atmosphere since the Open at St. Andrews last year, an event where he missed the cut. Woods comes in at +10000 to win this weekend’s tournament. 

Joaquín Niemann, the defending winner, is one of the two top-25 golfers that won’t be participating this weekend (Cam Smith). They’ve each taken their talents to the LIV Tour, cementing a ban from the PGA Tour in the process. Niemann won last year’s Genesis Invitational courtesy of a -19 effort, beating out Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young by two strokes.

From a betting perspective, we’ll see the usual suspects atop the odds table. Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler are playing at an insane level right now, while Rory McIlroy will aim to get back in the mix after a pedestrian effort at the WM Phoenix Open (pedestrian at least by his standards).

What’s really interesting to note is that none of these three, nor Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay have won or finished runner-up at the Genesis Invitational. That speaks to how difficult this course can be, and from a gambling perspective, opens the door to some longshot options. 

2023 GENESIS INVITATIONAL PREDICTION 

As I mentioned above, it’ll be far from a lock that any of the top players in the world are guaranteed to bring home the $3.6 million this weekend. With that being said, it should open the door for some of the “B-list guys” to make a run at the win. That’s how I’m going to approach the Genesis Invitational, and I’m going to ride with Tony Finau to get back in the win column. 

Finau’s currently ranked 13th in the world rankings, and that checks out with where his finishes have been as of late. Leading up to the WM Phoenix Open, the American recorded four top-10 finishes along with a top-20. Included in that is an outright win at the Cadence Bank Houston Open in November 2022.

In addition to his excellent form, he’s had several successful bouts with the Riviera. Finau boasts runner-up performances in 2021 (playoff loss, -12) and 2018 (-10) and placed T15 (-6) in 2019. For this weekend’s Genesis Invitational, I’ll take a chance with Finau to be in contention on Sunday. 

2023 GENESIS INVITATIONAL PICK

Pick: Tony Finau To Win Outright *Genesis Invitational odds will be released tomorrow so check back for the odds

2023 GENESIS INVITATIONAL FIELD

This weekend’s event features a stacked 134-golfer field that will see 23 of the world’s top 25 players compete. Here are the top 15 betting favorites heading into the Genesis Invitational. 

Click here for 2023 Genesis Invitational Winner Odds