2024 The Genesis Invitational Odds & Picks

The Genesis Invitational will once again have Riviera Country Club as its host course, of course.

The tournament will also be hosted by Tiger Woods, a man that has never actually won the tournament.

But, that’s how things go in Hollywood, much like how the Oscars will be hosted by zero-time Academy Award winner Jimmy Kimmel.

Barring any wild changes to his current career path, Tiger is very unlikely to win the Genesis, and Jimmy Kimmel is almost certain to never win an Oscar.

Although, Woods is the host with the most – the most career PGA Tour wins, that is.

So, never say never.

At 200-1 odds to win on FanDuel, Tiger could be the next man in the long-running series of longshot winners on the PGA Tour this season, with six consecutive winners at over 100-1 odds to start the season.

Riviera Country Club is a par 71 and tips at 7,322 yards, and features tight fairways, consistently holding one of the lowest driving accuracy percentages on Tour.

Swingers will definitely be double-checking the fit of their glove prior to firing away in the tee box.

Things won’t get much easier on approach, as Riviera also boasts one of the lowest greens in regulation percentages on Tour as well.

Strokes gained: tee-to-green will be a stat to keep an eye on, but so will scrambling, as those that miss the green will need to clean up their mistakes, especially with Riviera’s deep bunkers and thick Kikuyu rough all about the course.

22 of the top 24 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking will be teeing it up this week, so it will be a star-studded field in Hollywood.

The Genesis, now being a Signature event on Tour, will have a trimmed field of players and the cut will be 50 and ties after 36 holes, plus any golfer that’s within 10 strokes of the leader.

The winner receives one of those big checks with $4 Million written on it and 700 points in the FedEx Cup standings.

Let’s peruse the betting boards and highlight some golfers that could come away with a victory at Riviera.

As always, all golfers will be paired with the best odds!

Top Of The Board

Scottie Scheffler

As the No. 1 golfer in the world today, it’s only fitting to see Scheffler’s name atop the betting boards.

Scheffler has become quite familiar with this track over the last five years, finishing with a top 20 over his last three visits.

While not the Tour’s most accurate driver, sitting 90th in driving accuracy, Scheffler makes up for his mistakes off the tee by throwing in darts from anywhere on the course.

Here’s a nice shot from Scheffler’s 2023 U.S. Open, played at nearby Los Angeles Country Club:

WHAT A SHOT FROM SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER 😱

(via @usopengolf)pic.twitter.com/V0ikqYzZPU

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 18, 2023

Scheffler is currently first on Tour in greens in regulation percentage, fourth in proximity to the hole, second in strokes gained: approach, and first overall in strokes gained: tee-to-green.

He will improve on last year’s 8-under T12 finish.

Pick: Scheffler | Best Odds: (+700) bet365

Viktor Hovland

The 26-year-old Norwegian has yet to make waves on the PGA Tour this season, finishing T22 at The Sentry and and T58 in the truncated Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but his ball striking skills should play well at Riviera.

Hovland recorded a T20 in the Genesis in 2023, and that followed T5 and T4 placements in the two editions prior.

It appears to be just a matter of time before Hovland is victorious at Riviera.

The limited sample of rounds played on Tour this season may skew his outlook for the Genesis for stat-searching bettors.

WOW! Just a RIDICULOUS shot from Viktor Hovland! 🤯

(via @PGATOUR)pic.twitter.com/YHqiNNhAGo

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 2, 2021

The defending FedEx Cup champion and No. 4 golfer in the world has all the shots in his bag and the track record to put it all together this week, and is always an enticing wager in a premium field.

Always a great ball-striker, but if Hovland’s short game is on, he should be in contention on Sunday.

Pick: Hovland | Best Odds: (+1400) BetMGM

Middle Of The Board

Tony Finau

Finau is no stranger to Riviera, posting four top 20s and finishing as a runner up twice, so he’s been knocking on the Genesis Invitational door for a while.

Max Homa bested Finau in a two-hole playoff in the 2021 Genesis Invitational.

While Finau’s putting has burned him in the early stretch of the season (169th in strokes gained: putting), he’s still 10th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, ninth in strokes gained: approach, and third in greens in regulation.

Finau’s strong iron play should give him assistance in climbing the leaderboard, finding the greens more often than those that have to scramble for par.

Looking to rebound after carding 72-72-69 in the three rounds of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Finau is still recording plenty of circles on the scorecard, sitting 30th in birdie or better conversion percentage.

Finau should come out firing in this stacked field.

Pick: Finau | Best Odds: (+3300) FanDuel

Nicolai Hojgaard

In two turns on the PGA Tour this season, Hojgaard has a solo second-place finish at the Farmers and a T31 at Pebble Beach, so his game is in a decent spot right now.

Hojgaard also had a solid January in Dubai, finishing T25 at the Dubai Invitational and T7 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.

The 22-year-old from Denmark is now 33rd in the Official World Golf Ranking and is proving to be a Top-10 golfer in the world sooner rather than later.

In his limited run on Tour, Hojgaard is fifth in strokes gained: off-the-tee, 11th in strokes gained: tee-to-green, 32nd in strokes gained: putting, and 48th in scrambling.

In my opinion, Hojgaard is my favorite value this week.

Pick: Hojgaard | Best Odds: (+6000) FanDuel

Bottom Of The Board

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Always a strong putter, Bezuidenhout’s irons are quickly becoming a stronger part of his game.

Bezuidenhout is currently sixth in strokes gained: approach and 10th in proximity to the hole.

If not for the occasional erratic driving from the tee box, Bezuidenhout would probably not be over 100-1 to win this week.

When in the fairway, the South African is fifth in proximity. If he finds the fairways, Bezuidenhout could go low.

Currently 37th in strokes gained: total and 71st in both strokes gained: putting and in scrambling, Bezuidenhout has almost all of the tools to tackle Riviera.

Just split the fairways and bettors could have an intriguing value at 125-1 on Bezuidenhout.

Pick: Bezuidenhout | Best Odds: (+12500) bet365

Brendon Todd

Ball-striker extraordinaire Brendon Todd is four-for-four in cuts made this season, but has yet to finish higher than his T22 at last week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Despite a lack of podium finishes, Todd’s game appears to be in good form.

Todd did miss the cut in last years’ Genesis, but with this being a PGA Signature Event in 2024, Todd could climb the leaderboard more easily in a trimmed lineup.

One of the most accurate drivers on Tour (7th), Todd should find more fairways than most of the field, and his hot putter could vault him past others that struggle on Riviera’s quick greens.

Todd is currently 23rd in strokes gained: total and 58th in strokes gained: approach, so while a longshot, definitely an interesting wager.

Todd can be found for the value of 125-1 on BetMGM, but his odds sit at a lofty 200-1 on FanDuel.

In this season of longshot winners, in the hypothetical scenario where Todd claims victory at Riviera, a $100 bettor would leave $75 on the table at BetMGM compared to the same bettor on FanDuel.

Always do your shopping.

Pick: Todd | Best Odds: (+20000) FanDuel