The Genesis Invitational FanDuel Report
This week we are back to a single course tournament with the cut being after 36 holes. The Genesis Invitational takes place at the Riviera Country Club, where a 16-year-old Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour event as an amateur back in 1992. Tiger has yet to win this specific tournament, though. The Genesis Invitational consists of a 120 player field, where the top 65 (and ties) will make the cut after 36 holes, as I mentioned above. Riviera is a par 71 course, measuring 7,322 yards, with poa greens.
This field is packed with studs, which makes DFS a lot of fun for this week. The course gives the longer hitters a real advantage, as six of the par-four holes are at least 450 yards. The roughs aren’t very thick, so driving accuracy won’t be a big factor. This week it’s all about the iron play and wedges around the green due to the small poa greens.
Now that we have an idea of the course, let’s take a look at my favorite plays this week.
$10k+
Cash: Adam Scott - $10,800:
Scott is one of the few golfers this week that is checking almost every single box for me. He’s top 20 in SG: APP, SG: ARG, Dr Dist, Scrambling, and SG: P (Poa). On top of his stats, he has finished T7, T11, and T2 in three of the last four years at this tournament. His ownership should be around 18 percent and that’s why he’s my cash play, as opposed to GPP.
GPP: Marc Leishman - $10,500:
I was debating whether or not to put Leishman here, and that’s because of his course history. He has T4 and T5 finishes in both 2019 and 2016. In 2018, 2017 and 2015, he missed the cut. With that said, his recent form has been really good as he won The Farmers and finished T28 at the Sony. Over his last 24 rounds, he ranks 20th in SG: BS, eighth in SG: APP, 25th in Scrambling, and is top 50 in Dr Dist, SG: P4 (450-500) and SG: P (Poa).
Pivot: Hideki Matsuyama - $11,000
$9k+
Cash: J.B. Holmes - $9,700:
Holmes has been playing some really good golf lately. Over his last three starts, he has a T14 and two T16 finishes. Oh, he also happens to be the defending champion of this tournament from last year. He putts really well on these Poa greens, ranking 18th among the field over his last 100 rounds. He’s also fourth in Dr Dist over his last 24 rounds.
GPP: Cameron Smith - $9,500:
Smith has had some inconsistencies recently, along with his course history. He won the Sony about a month ago but then finished T64 a couple of weeks later at the Farmers. In this tournament, he was T6 in 2018, but also has a T49, T28 and a T63 over the last four years. I do think that this course is a good fit for him, though. He ranks 29th in SG: ARG, 29th in Scrambling, and 10th in SG: P (Poa).
Pivot: Adam Hadwin - $9,000
$8k+
Cash: Carlos Ortiz - $8,400:
I think that Oritz is an absolute steal at this price! He ranks 12th in SG: ARG, 14th in Dr Dist, 24th in Scrambling, second in SG: P4 (450-500), and second in SG: P (Poa). He finished T9 here last year and also has a T26 in 2016 and a T20 finish in 2015. His recent form hasn’t been bad either, finishing T25 at the Waste Management a couple of weeks ago.
GPP: Patrick Rodgers - $8,400:
Rodgers isn’t checking the boxes in a few stats that I’d like him to, but he does rank top-10 in both Dr Dist and Scrambling, to go along with 19th in SG: P (Poa). He finished T16 at the Waste Management a couple of weeks ago, and the week prior to that he was T9 at the Farmers. Last year, Rodgers was T15 here at the Genesis, and he also has T26 and T22 finishes the two years before that.
Pivot: Jason Kokrak
$7k+
Cash: Cameron Tringale - $7,700:
Over his last 24 rounds, Tringale ranks in the top-25 in the following stats: SG: BS, SG: APP, Dr Dist, SG: P4 (450-500) and SG: P (Poa). His best finish here was a T8 in 2017.
GPP: Sepp Straka - $7,000:
Straka is a dart throw here but does have some decent stats to back up the play. He’s 42nd in SG: BS, 28th in Dr Dist, 37th in Scrambling and 27th in SG: P (Poa). He missed his last two cuts, but he did finish T4 at The AmEx.
Pivot: Aaron Baddeley - $7,800
Key Stats “Key”:
SG: APP = Strokes Gained Approach
SG: ARG = Strokes Gained Around the Greens
Scrambling = Chip Shop or Putt from less than 50 yards off the green, with an end result of Par or better
SG: BS = Strokes Gained Ball Striking
SG: P4 (450-500) = Strokes Gained Par 4 Scoring on holes measuring 450-500 yards
Dr Dist = Driving Distance
SG: P (Poa) = Strokes Gained Putting on Poa Greens
* All Stats and Ownership Projections courtesy of Fantasy National
