Genesis Invitational Golf Betting Tips

The PGA Tour's West Coast Swing concludes with a top-class tournament at the Genesis Invitational, where all eyes will be on Tiger Woods as he makes his return to action at Riviera Country Club.

The Genesis, which is held in Pacific Palisades, California, has been associated with the Tiger Woods foundation since 2020 and the 15-time Grand Slam champion has decided to make his first start of the year in the event.

This is the third Signature Event of the PGA Tour season and Woods, who has never won this tournament, is part of a 70-man field who are competing for a $20million overall purse with $4m going to the winner.

Riviera, an iconic Los Angeles venue known for its association with Ben Hogan as well as a number of Hollywood stars, has held this event 59 times and became the permanent venue in 1973 with the exception of 1983 and 1998, two years when it hosted Major championships.

The 7,322-yard par-71 layout is known as an exacting test of tee-to-green golf. High-quality ball-striking and course management tend to come to the fore while those who hit a natural left-to-right fade have tended to thrive in the event.

Scheffler and McIlroy lead the way

Last year's winner Jon Rahm is unable to defend his title after defecting to the LIV Tour so world no.1 Scottie Scheffler is the clear 13/2 favourite as he bids to win at Riviera Country Club for the first time.

Scheffler's ball-striking has been consistently magnificent but he has produced some x-rated performances on the greens with a series of short putts seeing him fail to convert a winning opportunity at last week's Phoenix Open. He will hope for better at 'The Riv' this week.

Rory McIlroy, poor at Pebble Beach but a winner of the Dubai Desert Classic in January, is 10/1 to claim the Genesis Invitational while Viktor Hovland can be backed at 14/1, as can Xander Schauffele.

Woods, last seen finishing 18th of 20 runners in the Hero World Challenge in December, is 150/1 to claim the title but his ailing body could struggle to cope with Riviera, which is a notoriously difficult walk.

Tip 1 - Justin Thomas @ 16/1

Justin Thomas faded on Sunday in Phoenix but a 12th-place finish was another step in the right direction for the Kentucky man, who can demonstrate that he is well and truly back to his best by claiming Riviera glory for the first time.

Thomas, a magnificent ball-striker who is particularly brilliant with his irons, went into the final round of the 2019 Genesis Open with a lead, only to shoot a closing 75 to lose out to JB Holmes by a shot.

However, that performance demonstrated Thomas's ability to handle the tee-to-green test which Riviera presents and he's played well in his last two visits to the California course, finishing sixth in 2022 and 20th last year.

Thomas has made a superb start to 2024, finishing third at The American Express, sixth at Pebble Beach and 12th in Phoenix, and he should be confident of contending for silverware this week at a course which plays to his strengths.

Tip 2 - Collin Morikawa @ 16/1

California native Collin Morikawa was born in Los Angeles and there is every chance he can end the West Coast Swing with a victory in the Golden State.

Like Thomas, Morikawa has come agonisingly close to winning the Genesis title, finishing runner-up behind another LIV defector, Joaquin Niemann, in 2022, firing a final-round 65 to finish two shots adrift of the Chilean.

Last season, Morikawa again caught fire on Sunday, shooting a closing 67 to grab a share of sixth place. His natural fade is perfect for Riviera and his recent performance suggests he is closing in on another PGA Tour victory.

Morikawa finished 2023 by winning the Zozo Championship, then he began the season by finishing fifth in the Sentry, then he shrugged off a missed cut at the Farmers Insurance Open by finishing 14th at Pebble Beach last time out.

The first of his two Major championships came in California, at the 2020 US PGA, so more home-state glory could follow this week.

Tip 3 - Adam Scott @ 28/1

Adam Scott may not be the force of old but the Aussie ace arrives at Riviera in fine form and looks to have every chance of claiming a first PGA Tour victory since he bagged this title for the second time in 2020.

Scott, who was also a Riviera champion as a course debutant in the rain-affected 2005 event, has seven top-ten finishes to his name at this course and he returns having chalked up form figures of 5-6-4-7-20-8 in his last six starts.

While half of those appearances came against lesser lights on the DP World Tour, Scott was purring with his irons when eighth in Phoenix last week and a similar performance should see him go close.