This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Genesis Invitational
Pacific Palisades, California
Riviera Country Club - Par 71 - 7,322 yards
Field - 120 Entrants
Purse - $9.3M
The Preview
The West Coast Swing's grand finale brings a loaded field to Riviera Country Club as the exclusive invitational crew of 120 entrants includes nine of the top-10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Host Tiger Woods will be teeing it up for the first time since a T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open, while fluctuation atop the OWGR is possible with Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm battling for positioning. Throw a couple household names like Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson in the mix, and it becomes clear this is one of the strongest fields all year, including major championships. Riviera Country Club has primarily catered to bombers as driving distance lands among our key stats this week, but par-4 scoring is essential on a par-71 layout that generally lends an over-par scoring average to the field. Conditions should be prime, however, as sunny skies are expected to accompany relatively tame winds and mild temperatures.
Recent Champions
2019 - J.B. Holmes
2018 - Bubba Watson
2017 - Dustin Johnson
2016 - Bubba Watson
2015 - James Hahn
2014 - Bubba Watson
2013 - John Merrick
2012 - Bill Haas
2011 - Aaron Baddeley
2010 - Steve Stricker
2009 - Phil Mickelson
Key Stats to Victory
Driving distance
Par-4 scoring
Proximity: 150-plus
Scrambling
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Rory McIlroy - $50
The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year has stolen the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking from Brooks Koepka heading into the Genesis Invitational without even playing the past two weeks, as the latter has now gone four consecutive starts without a top-15 finish from the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open to the Saudi International. Meanwhile, McIlroy's last four international performances include results of T3-4-Win-T3 dating to the Zozo Championship. McIlroy led the field in GIR percentage at Riviera CC in 2019 en route to a T4, his best showing in three career appearances at the event. He also gained over five strokes on approaches while posting a top-3 during his most recent start at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Justin Thomas - $48
Perched atop the early FedExCup standings, Thomas has placed T4 or better in four of his first six events to begin the 2019-20 campaign, including wins at the CJ Cup and the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He paces this week's field in proximity from 150-175 yards over his last 12 rounds and he ranks second on Tour in birdie average this season. Thomas was well on the way to a win at Riviera last year as he entered Sunday's final round with a four-shot lead, but a closing 75 resulted in a disappointing runner-up honors. Nonetheless, he's placed 2-T9 here since 2018.
Jon Rahm - $46
Back-to-back wins at the European Tour's Mutuactivos Open de España and DP World Tour Championship sparked what has become a stretch of six straight top-10s for Rahm. The Spaniard ranks top-5 in GIR percentage over his last 12 rounds as well as P4: 450-500 efficiency over his past 24 rounds. His Genesis Invitational debut in 2019 included a T9 result while he also finished top-10 in driving distance at Riviera CC.
Glue Guys
Collin Morikawa - $38
Coming in at second in both SG: Approach and proximity from 175-200 yards over his last 12 rounds, Morikawa's brilliant ball-striking has led to five consecutive top-25s from the Zozo Championship through the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The Los Angeles native is no stranger to teeing it up along the west coast and he does his best work with the flat stick on poa annua putting surfaces. This will be Morikawa's Genesis debut, but he's ninth on Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green and fifth in SG: Approach.
Bubba Watson - $34
Watson at just $34 is one of the chalkiest spots of the entire season as the hard-hitting lefty has won three times in the last six years at Riviera CC, but he's also coming off back-to-back top-6s at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and Farmers Insurance Open. Watson is probably not worth fading here despite such inflated ownership, given he ranks ninth in SG: Off-the-Tee and even 14th in SG: Putting in addition to his course history. This is about as equivalent to a "free space" as you'll get in terms of cost vs. expected value.
Jordan Spieth - $34
It's so difficult to back Spieth due to the win drought and generally poor play since mid-2018, but he's rejoined the top-50 in the OWGR after a top-10 performance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he gained over five strokes on his approach shots. A $34 price tag is the lowest we've seen all season for Spieth, despite a final-round 67 on Sunday at Pebble Beach. He's a full $10 less expensive than last week due to a stronger field at Riviera, so Spieth can certainly provide value if the irons remain sharp. Spieth also owns three finishes of T12 or better in his last six trips to the Genesis Invitational.
Bargain Bin
Cameron Champ - $26
Champ's wedge play around the greens has been poor throughout his past three starts, but he's first in driving distance over his last 36 rounds, first in SG: Off-the-Tee over his last 12 rounds and first in P4: 400-450 efficiency through his past 24 rounds. He's also third in SG: Putting from 5-10 feet on poa during this span and third in GIR percentage in his last 12 strolls around the course. Champ missed the cut in each of his first two showings at the Genesis Invitational, but his recent form fits the mold for success at Riviera CC this time around.
J.B. Holmes - $22
The defending champion is severely underpriced as he heads back to Riviera on the heels of three consecutive top-16s from the Farmers Insurance Open through the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, so much like the aforementioned Watson, expect ultra-chalky ownership percentages for Holmes. He's 16th in proximity from 175-200 yards over his last 12 rounds and he's also 16th on Tour in SG: Putting.
Max Homa - $22
Cruising on the Homa hype train has been profitable as the former UC-Berkeley standout has strung together results of T14-T6-T9 since the Farmers Insurance Open, ascending to a career-best 90th in the OWGR. Aside from losing 0.5 strokes around the green at Pebble Beach, he's been on the positive side of every single Strokes Gained metric during this three-event stretch, showcasing a solid all-around game. Homa tied for 37th at Riviera CC in 2019 despite playing the par-3s and par-4s in a collective three-over-par.
