PGA TOUR

2026 Genesis Invitational Primer: History, TV, Field, Odds

Posted By

February 18, 2026

Scottie Scheffler (L) and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland follow the shot by McIlroy from the 12th tee during the final round of The Genesis Invitational 2025 at Torrey Pines Golf Course on February 16, 2025 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Harry How via Getty Images)

2026 Genesis Inv Primer Scottie Scheffler Rory McIlroy 12th tee — Scottie Scheffler (L) and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland follow the shot by McIlroy from the 12th tee during the final round of The Genesis Invitational 2025 at Torrey Pines Golf Course on February 16, 2025 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Harry How via Getty Images)

The PGA Tour will stay in California, traveling about 350 miles south, from Pebble Beach to Pacific Palisades, for this week’s Genesis Invitational — the second of two consecutive Signature events (sorry Brooks!).

The long-running tournament will be contested at historic Riviera Country Club for the 2026 finale of the five-event “West Coast Swing,” providing yet another opportunity for the players to rack up some serious early-season money and FedEx Cup points.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will headline the event alongside top-ranked stars Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Aberg (last year’s winner at Torrey Pines), among others.

As we do each week, here’s a rundown of facts and figures to get you prepped for the PGA Tour’s sixth tournament of 2026 season.

The Skinny

Ludvig Aberg walks off the 17th green during the final round of The Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines GC on Feb 16, 2025 in San Diego, Calif. (Photo by Ben Jared for PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

The Genesis Invitational
Dates: Feb. 19-22, 2026
PGA Tour Debut: 1926
PGA TOUR Week: 6th (of 33)
Course: Riviera CC
Where: Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Distance: Par 71/7383 yards
Architect: George Thomas, William Bell
Field: 72 players
Format: Low stroke, 72-holes
36-Hole Cut: Top 50 & Ties, plus all within 10 strokes
Purse: $20,000,000
Winning Share: $4,000,000
FedExCup Pts: 700
OWGR Pts: 69
2025 Champion: Ludvig Aberg

How to Follow The Genesis Invitational

Scottie Scheffler tees off on the first tee during the second round of The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 16, 2024 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Ben Jared for PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 4-8 p.m. (GOLF); Sat: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF); 3-7 p.m. (CBS); Sun: 1-3 (GOLF), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS)

PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 10:15 a.m.-8 p.m. ET (ESPN+); Sat: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+); Sun: 9:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

RADIO: Thu-Fri: 2-8 p.m.; Sat: 2-7 p.m.; Sun: 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM)

EVENT LINKS: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X

PGA TOUR LINKS: Website | Leaderboard | Facebook | Instagram | X

History: Genesis Invitational

Ben Hogan tees off from the clubhouse tee in the second round of the 22nd annual Los Angeles $10,000 Open Golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club. Hogan won top honors in the tournament for the third time and second year in a row by firing a 72-hole total of 275, a then course record. (Photo by Bettmann via Getty Images)

Long known as the Los Angeles Open, and more recently the Northern Trust Open, the Genesis Invitational has been held at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades (a neighborhood in the west-side region of L.A.) for most of its history.

The inaugural tournament was contested in 1926 with American Harry Cooper capturing the very first trophy, along with a check for $3,500.

Macdonald Smith and Lloyd Mangrum — two great, but largely forgotten, players — share the all-time wins record with four (4) titles apiece.

Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Bubba Watson have each won the prestigious tournament three times.

Bubba Watson lines up a shot on the 18th green during the final round of the Genesis Open at Riviera CC on Feb 18, 2018 in Pacific Palisades, CA. Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Other notable tournament winners include Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Billy Casper, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Fred Couples, Nick Faldo, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama.

The Los Angeles Open has been the site of some historically significant events: in 1938, legendary female athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias became the first woman to play a men’s professional golf event. Zaharias, who had only taken up golf three years earlier, after spending years as a track and field superstar, shot opening rounds of 81 and 84 and missed the cut.

In 1992, the then-titled Nissan Los Angeles Open was the site of Tiger Woods‘ first PGA Tour start. As a 16-year old high school sophomore, the amateur Woods shot 72-75 (+5) to miss the cut. Ironically, Woods never claimed victory in his hometown event — one of the few marquee PGA Tour events he failed to win.

In 2025, the tournament was moved from Riviera to Torrey Pines Golf Course, South Course, in San Diego due to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. All four rounds of the L.A. Open were contested on the South Course.

Joaquin Niemann celebrates with the trophy alongside tournament host Tiger Woods after winning The Genesis Invitational at Riviera CC on Feb 20, 2022 in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Photo by Rob Carr via Getty Images)

Five of the last six winners have been international players with American Max Homa (2021) joining Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (2025), Japan’s Matsuyama (2024), Spain’s Rahm (2023), Chilean Joaquin Nieman (2022) and Aussie Adam Scott (2020).

Riviera will host the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open, June 4-7, along with the 2028 Summer Olympics golf events.

Managed by the Tiger Woods Foundation, the former Genesis L.A. Open was elevated to an ‘Invitational’ in 2020, joining the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Jack Nicklaus‘ Memorial Tournament as one of three elite invitational stops. In 2022 it became one of the tour’s “Signature events,” offering a $20 million purse and $3.6 million to the winner. The winner’s prize was escalated to $4 million in 2025.

History: Tournament Titles

Genesis Invitational (2020-Present)
Genesis Open (2017-19)
Northern Trust Open (2008-16)
Nissan Open (1995-07)
Nissan Los Angeles Open (1989-94)
Los Angeles Open presented by Nissan (1987-88)
Los Angeles Open (1984-86)
Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open (1971-83)
Los Angeles Open (1926-70)

History: Recent Champions

2025: Ludvig Aberg (-12)
2024: Hideki Matsuyama (-17)
2023: Jon Rahm (-17)*
2022: Joaquin Niemann (-19)*
2021: Max Homa (-12)
2020: Adam Scott (-11)
2019: J.B. Holmes (-14)
2018: Bubba Watson (-12)*
2017: Dustin Johnson (-17)*
2016: Bubba Watson (-15)*
2015: James Hahn (-6)
2014: Bubba Watson (-15)*
* Banned. Now play on LIV tour.

History: Records

Wins:
4 – Macdonald Smith (1928-29, 1932, 1934)
4 – Lloyd Mangrum (1949, 1951, 1953, 1956)

72-Hole Score:
264 (-20) – Lanny Wadkins (1985)

18-Hole Score:
61 (-10) – Ted Tryba (1999, Rd 3)

The Course: Riviera CC

Dustin Johnson hits a shot during the 2017 Genesis Open at Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades, CA. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The 2026 Genesis Invitational returns to its historic home at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, for its milestone 100th edition.

After a one-year relocation to Torrey Pines due to devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires in 2025, the PGA Tour’s second Signature Event of the season is back where it belongs on one of golf’s most revered and timeless layouts.

Designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and opened in 1927, Riviera celebrates its centennial anniversary this year, blending strategic brilliance with natural beauty just miles from the Pacific coast.

The elite 72-player field, featuring 18 of the world’s top 20 and stars like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, will battle for a $20 million purse on a par-71 course now stretched to a maximum 7,383 yards with recent tee additions, including a lengthened 18th and an enhanced par-3 4th.

Riviera demands precision over power, with its compact routing, large greens averaging 7,500 square feet, sloping fairways, minimal water hazards, and strategic bunkering that rewards thoughtful play rather than brute force, earning praise as one of the purest tests on Tour.

Iconic holes like the drivable but treacherous par-4 10th (often called one of golf’s best), the risk-reward par-5 11th, and the dramatic uphill par-4 18th framed by the clubhouse have produced legendary moments, from Ben Hogan‘s triumphs in “Hogan’s Alley” to recent winners like Hideki Matsuyama’s record 62 closing round in 2024.

As the culmination of the West Coast Swing, this event promises compelling competition on a course that feels both timeless and freshly challenging, setting the stage for another chapter in its storied legacy.

The official scorecard of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (Courtesy PGA Tour)