This week, the pros of the PGA will head out to the West Coast to play in the Genesis Open. One thing we want to mention is the fact that when you start doing your research on this tournament, you will want to look up the Los Angeles Open, Nissan Open, and the Northern Trust Open, as this tournament has been known by several other names prior to the Genesis Open.
The Genesis Open is played out in Pacific Palisades, California at Riviera Country Club. The course is a Par 71 course and plays at a distance of 7,322 yards. The prize pool for the Genesis Open is $7.4 million dollars, and there are currently 144 golfers participating in the tournament.
The tournament is hosted by the Tiger Woods Foundation, and it just so happens that Tiger will be playing in this year’s Genesis Open. I won’t be playing him, but if he is someone that interests you, you can play him at 20/1.
There are a few golfers that have already decided to withdraw from the tournament before it even gets started. Trey Mullinax has made the decision to forego this week’s tournament for unknown reasons. Steve Stricker has always played well here, but this week he withdrew and stated that he will join the field for the Chubb Classic with the remainder of the elderly players on the PGA Tour. The final golfer to pull his name off the list was Kenny Perry, who withdrew on Tuesday without reason.
Now that we’ve discussed who is out, let’s take a look at who we like and who is worth playing this week at the Genesis Open.
The Genesis Open Odds
Dustin Johnson +900
Justin Thomas +1200
Bryson DeChambeau +1400
Rory McIlroy +1600
Jon Rahm +1600
Tiger Woods +2000
Bubba Watson +2000
Jordan Spieth +2200
Phil Mickelson +2200
Xander Schauffele +2200
Hideki Matsuyama +2800
Patrick Cantlay +2800
Tony Finau +2800
Adam Scott +3000
Marc Leishman +3000
Paul Casey +3000
Cameron Smith +3500
Matt Kuchar +3500
Tommy Fleetwood +3500
Charles Howell III +4000
Sergio Garcia +4000
Chez Reavie +4500
Adam Hadwin +5000
Branden Grace +5000
Cameron Champ +5000
Louis Oosthuizen +5000
Rafa Cabrera-Bello +6000
Tyrrell Hatton +7000
Jason Kokrak +8000
Keegan Bradley +8000
Scott Stallings +8000
Si Woo Kim +8000
Sung Kang +8000
J.B. Holmes +9000
Kevin Na +9000
Martin Laird +9000
Sungjae Im +9000
Aaron Wise +10000
Abraham Ancer +10000
Andrew Putnam +10000
Brian Harman +10000
Charl Schwartzel +10000
Danny Willett +10000
Luke List +10000
Beau Hossler +12500
Bill Haas +12500
Brendan Steele +12500
C.T. Pan +12500
Charley Hoffman +12500
Harold Varner +12500
James Hahn +12500
Jimmy Walker +12500
Joaquin Niemann +12500
Kevin Streelman +12500
Kevin Tway +12500
Kyle Stanley +12500
Martin Kaymer +12500
Russell Henley +12500
Ryan Moore +12500
J.T. Poston +14000
Andrew Landry +15000
Brian Gay +15000
Bud Cauley +15000
J.J. Spaun +15000
Jhonattan Vegas +15000
Jim Furyk +15000
Keith Mitchell +15000
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +15000
Ollie Schniederjans +15000
Pat Perez +15000
Sangmoon Bae +15000
Scott Langley +15000
Trey Mullinax +15000
Anirban Lahiri +20000
Brandon Harkins +20000
Chris Stroud +20000
Hunter Mahan +20000
Joel Dahmen +20000
Patrick Rodgers +20000
Peter Uihlein +20000
Sam Burns +20000
Ernie Els +22500
Jason Dufner +22500
Adam Schenk +25000
Anders Albertson +25000
Danny Lee +25000
Harris English +25000
Hudson Swafford +25000
Ryan Armour +25000
Sam Ryder +25000
Scott Brown +25000
Davis Love III +27500
Denny McCarthy +27500
Brian Stuard +30000
Bronson Burgoon +30000
Cameron Davis +30000
Carlos Ortiz +30000
Fred Couples +30000
Grayson Murray +30000
Jonas Blixt +30000
Julian Etulain +30000
Nick Taylor +30000
Peter Malnati +30000
Robert Streb +30000
Sam Saunders +30000
Satoshi Kodaira +30000
Ted Potter Jr. +30000
Vaughn Taylor +30000
Ryan Blaum +35000
Tom Hoge +35000
Adam Long +40000
Cody Gribble +40000
Fredrik Jacobson +40000
Jim Knous +40000
John Huh +40000
K.J. Choi +40000
Kelly Kraft +40000
Tyler Duncan +40000
Chase Wright +50000
D.A. Points +50000
John Senden +50000
Kenny Perry +50000
Kramer Hickok +50000
Mackenzie Hughes +50000
Michael Kim +50000
Morgan Hoffmann +50000
Seamus Power +50000
Stephan Jaeger +50000
Tae Hee Lee +50000
Whee Kim +50000
Alex Cejka +75000
Seth Reeves +75000
Michael Block +100000
Rod Pampling +100000
The Favorites
Jon Rahm – It would be very easy to go with Dustin Johnson or Justin Thomas, both of whom have played well here, but their odds are much too low for my liking. That leads me to drop down to Jon Rahm, whom we can play at 16/1. Rahm will be playing here for the first time and his game style really sets up well for Riviera Country Club. Rahm is long off the tee and has strong Par 4 Scoring numbers, which has been a direct attribute of the past 7 winners at the Genesis Open.
Bubba Watson – Defending Champion Bubba Watson is back this year, and he has to be considered as one of the top favorites in the tournaments. Watson not only won the tournament last year, but he also won in 2016 and 2014. Needless to say, his course history makes him a favorite to win again this year, and at 20/1, he does actually carry some value.
The Value Guys
Paul Casey – Casey has been in really good form as of late. Casey has missed getting the win barely in his last two tournaments. He finished 2nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and 2nd at the SMBC Singapore Open, both of which had very tough opposition. Casey doesn’t have the greatest history here at Riviera Country Club, but he did finish in 2nd back in 2015. Casey is one of the most accurate golfers off the tee and should do very well this year.
Matt Kuchar – Kuchar has a lot on his plate this week, but if he can keep his mind straight, he should do well. Kuchar has been dealing with some bad publicity over not paying his caddie what the caddie felt was fair for a win that Kuchar had, and therefore legal issues seem to be on the horizon. Putting that all aside, he has really strong numbers and should play well. He is 3rd on tour in Driving Accuracy, 5th on tour in Greens in Reg and 8th on tour in Par 4 Scoring. At 35/1, and even as high as 50/1 at some sportsbooks, he is a great value for this week.
The Longshots
Harold Varner – Harold Varner is 125/1 this week. Yes, you read that correct, 125/1. Crazy, right? In his last 3 tournaments, Varner has a 10th and an 18th place finish, split between a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. Varner is always one of those guys that seem to play well on the California swing, and I expect a nice showing this week from the Ohio native.
Jim Furyk – Jim Furyk is coming into this week at 150/1. For most people, they wouldn’t even consider playing Furyk at that number, but to overlook him would be a monstrous mistake. He is #1 on tour in Driving Accuracy, 3rd on tour in Greens in Reg and 8th on tour in Par 4 Scoring. He knows what it takes to be successful here at Riviera Country Club, and I think the combination of his course experience and recent form makes him the best longshot in the tournament.