Welcome back to the BettingPros PGA Show. Bo’s pockets are jangling with gold doubloons after hitting on Collin Morikawa at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last weekend. He’s in a great mood after the victory. I’m also in a great mood, because we’re about to preview one of our favorite events of the PGA Tour season, the Genesis Invitational hosted by the splendid Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Genesis Invitational Preview
This week brings us a second consecutive Signature Event, the Genesis Invitational. There’s 72 players in the field and there will be a 36-hole cut with the Top 50 players plus ties earning the right to play into the weekend. Not only do we get a terrific field because of the tournament’s Signature Event status, but we get to see the pros play at a favorite non-major venue, Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. This will be the first time we’ve seen them at Riviera in two years since the Palisades fire forced a change of venue for last year’s Genesis, which was moved to Torrey Pines.
Riviera is a par 71 measuring 7,383 yards. Get ready for Kikuyu rough and barrancas. Kikuyu rough is snarly stuff that punishes players who miss fairways. Barrancas are craggy, ditch-like features that you do not want to hit into. At Riviera, there is no water whatsoever.
Players start with the easiest hole on the course. No. 1 is a straightforward, slightly downhill 503-yard par five. Get your birdie or eagle on 1 because birdies are hard to find elsewhere on the course. There are six par 4s that measure 458 yards or longer, including the 499-yard 18th, which plays uphill toward Riviera’s gorgeous Spanish-style clubhouse.
They’re also expecting some rain in Los Angeles this week. The greens could be soft, but the rough could be especially thick. It’s going to be in the upper 50s on Thursday with light winds. Temperatures get into the 60s the rest of the tournament and should stay pleasant. The rain chances diminish and the wind should continue to be light.
Riviera is a spectacular golf property. Even when it’s playing easier than usual, you’re going to see a lot of really bad golf shots from the best players in the world, especially on No. 10 because that hole has vexed everybody.
Hard Rock Best Bets of the Week
Now onto our Hard Rock Best Bets for the Genesis Invitational.
Bo McBrayer’s Hard Rock Best Bet of the Week
This week, I’m on Robert MacIntyre Outright Without Scottie Scheffler (+3100).
I have MacIntyre at No. 3 in my model this week, and he’s Top 10 across the board in every category I’m looking at. This is a ball striker course and that fits him well. The only thing that really trips him up is putting on Poa, where he’s kind of middle-of-the-pack, but when I filter for difficult scoring conditions with Poa greens, his last 24 rounds rank him third in this field behind Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler. He’s a gamer, and if Scottie wins and Bobby Mac shows up like I think he will, this could be a really nice payday.
Bo McBrayer’s Genesis Invitational Picks:
- Hard Rock Best Bet: Robert MacIntyre (38-1 & 31-1 without Scottie)
- Robert MacIntyre Top 10 (+260)
- Scottie Scheffler parlayed with Robert MacIntyre Top 10 (+1412)
- Tommy Fleetwood (22-1 & 18-1 without Scottie)
- Rickie Fowler (42-1)
- Aaron Rai (185-1)
- Aaron Rai Top 20 (+280)
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Hard Rock Best Bet of the Week
Give me Scottie Scheffler Outright (+325).
I’m very comfortable betting Scottie at +325 this week. That’s the best number we’ve seen on him in a long time, and when I look at the way he’s playing right now, he is so dialed in. If not for those pedestrian first rounds the last two weeks, he could easily have three wins in three 2026 starts. Riviera hasn’t been great for him historically, but this is a course that demands elite approach play, especially from 150-200 yards out, and that’s exactly where Scottie thrives. At this price in a small field, I’m willing to bet on the best player in the world.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Genesis Invitational Picks:
- Hard Rock Best Bet: Scottie Scheffler (+325)
- Tommy Fleetwood (22.5-1)
- Ryo Hisatsune (115-1)
- Tom Hoge (230-1)
That is all for this week. We hope you’ll be back next week for our betting preview of the first event of the PGA Tour Florida Swing, the Cognizant Classic. Until then, so long everyone.
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