The Genesis Invitational takes place this week at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. The field of 120 is among the strongest of the season so far, including 11 of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
With all that talent in the field, there are plenty of favorites to consider placing a wager on. The futures have world number one Dustin Johnson at the top with odds of +550, followed by number two Jon Rahm at +1200.
Next is sixth-ranked Rory McIlroy at +1300 and third in the OWGR Justin Thomas at +1400. The top five is rounded out by Xander Schauffele, the fourth-ranked player. Adam Scott, the defending champion and 22nd-ranked player in the world, carries odds of +4000.
Daniel Berger eagled the 72nd hole at Pebble Beach last week for a final-round 65 and a two-shot win over Maverick McNealy. Berger is 15th in the world and has odds of +3000 to make it back-to-back victories.
Max Homa has been playing well of late and is coming off a tie for seventh at Pebble Beach.
Underdogs to Bet on at Riviera
The top-heavy odds pool makes it difficult to find many players down the list that could contend this week. One player that has had recent success after more than two years of frustration is Jordan Spieth. The three-time major champion has 11 Tour wins, but none since the 2017 Open Championship.
He’s held the 54-hole lead the last two weeks but hasn’t been able to put together a strong final round. After missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, Spieth has finished fourth in the Waste Management and third at Pebble Beach.
The 27-year-old out of the University of Texas is playing with a lot of confidence, and it’s just a matter of time before he adds to his Tour win total. In 2018, he finished tied for ninth in the Genesis Invitational, so he’s had some recent success at Riviera, perhaps worth consideration at +4000.
Max Homa has been playing well of late and is coming off a tie for seventh at Pebble Beach. He managed to shoot a pair of 68s on the weekend but never really contended.
His second-best finish of 2020 came at the Genesis, where he tied for fifth with four other players, including Bryson DeChambeau and McIlroy.
The 2019 Wells Fargo Championship winner has odds of +7000, and he seems to be headed in the right direction after a dismal finish to the 2020 season following the restart. He’s made seven of eight cuts, including the last five, with his best performance coming last week.
Experience matters at Riviera, and seven-time PGA TOUR winner Matt Kuchar has plenty of it. He finished in a second-place tie behind Scott at last year’s Genesis Invitational and has odds of +12500 to win.
The 1997 U.S. Amateur champion and Georgia Tech standout last won at the 2019 Sony Open, his second of two victories that season. He consistently puts the ball in the fairway and makes the cut at Riviera. If Kuchar has a good week on the greens, he could provide a nice payoff on a longshot bet.
