Following Scottie Scheffler’s breakthrough win at the WM Phoenix Open, next on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Genesis Invitational. Since 1973, this event has been held at Riviera Country Club (par 71, 7,322 yards, POA greens), located in Pacific Palisades, California. A year ago, Max Homa edged out Tony Finau in a playoff, with a winning number of -12. Evident from this score, Riviera is one of the most difficult non-major tracks on TOUR. What makes this par 71 so tough is the course’s tight fairways and small greens that are extremely challenging to read.
Being long and efficient OTT has been a huge advantage at Riviera over the last decade, and we should be prioritizing strong drivers of the golf ball this week. Last season, Homa finished the event second in SG OTT, making him the fourth Genesis winner over the last five years to rank inside the top 20 in the stat. Per usual, we also need to be targeting players who are in strong form with their irons, given three of last four victors at Riviera have ranked in the top 10 in SG APP during their wins.
Without question, you need to be an elite par 4 player to find success at this par 71, specifically on par 4s that range from 450-500 yards. Six of the 11 par 4s at Riviera land in this range and over the last five years, we have seen three Genesis champions lead their fields in SG on these specific holes. Last, but not least, Riviera is home to POA greens and finding golfers who have had success on this rare putting surface is a sharp move this week.
As an invitational, this is a smaller field of 120 players, including 17 of the top-20 ranked golfers in the world. Even with less players than a standard event, there will still be a normal top-65 and ties cut following the first 36 holes, meaning that a higher percentage of the field than usual will be advancing to the weekend. As always, this creates a great opportunity to build stars and scrubs lineups, and below I have featured four of my favorite options priced under $7.5K on DraftKings for the Genesis Invitational.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st]
Luke List, $7,400
List is an easy choice this week at this low price tag. The bomber just picked up the first PGA TOUR victory of his career at the difficult Torrey Pines three weeks ago, which is just one of his four finishes inside the top 11 across his past seven starts. Over his last 24 rounds, List’s ball striking has been incredible, ranking first in SGT2G and fifth in SG APP. Furthermore, he has been stellar with his driver, ranking fifth in SG OTT and second in driving distance, and List has been a brilliant par 4 player, ranking second in SG on par 4s and 15th in SG on 450-500 yard par 4s.
To top it all off, List’s best putting splits come on POA and he owns a 4/6 record at Riviera, with all four of these finishes coming inside the top 30. Plain and simple, List is the best value on the board this week and needs to be one of your core plays.
Thomas Pieters, $7,400
Pieters produced a runner-up finish in his course debut at Riviera in 2017 and now returns to the par 71 in outstanding form. The Belgian is fresh off a T12 at the Dubai Desert Classic last month, marking his sixth top-20 finish in his past seven starts worldwide. Most notably, he earned a win at the Portugal Masters in November.
This season, Pieters ranks 22nd in GIR on the European Tour and his recent success has moved him up a notable 95 spots in the world golf rankings over the last three months. The 30-year-old currently ranks 31st in the world, but is the 36th most expensive player on DraftKings this week, showing you how underpriced Pieters is for his upside.
Maverick McNealy, $7,200
McNealy has been extremely consistent, only failing to make the cut once in his past 17 starts with 13 top-30 finishes coming during this stretch. The 26-year-old missed the weekend in his Genesis debut last year but was only a shot outside the cutline. He should bounce back with a quality finish in his second attempt at Riviera this week.
When we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, McNealy ranks 19th in SGT2G, 15th in SG OTT and ninth in SG on par 4s that fall between 450-500 yards. Plus, the Stanford grad has been successful on POA, making seven of his past 10 cuts at venues that are home to this green type.
Taylor Moore, $6,700
While Moore has never teed it up at Riviera before, the 28-year-old is a terrific course fit for the par 71. Since joining the TOUR as a full time member last September, Moore has gained strokes OTT in seven of eight starts.
This excellent work with his driver has helped Moore card four top-30 finishes during this time, including a T16 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in his most recent start, which is a tournament that features three courses that all present POA greens. Moore was priced up to $7.3K for that event and is one of the best values available for the Genesis at this discounted salary, which is the cheapest he has been on DraftKings since he earned his TOUR card.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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