The 2022 Genesis Invitational gets underway on Thursday morning at the Riviera Country Club. It will be the 96th edition of the Los Angeles event.
The field includes every player ranked inside the Official World Golf Rankings’ top 10, and 23 of the top 30.
Note: Each week, we make our picks based on the odds offered by DraftKings Sportsbook. The picks we make MUST offer payouts of at least +200. (We are looking for the best return.)
The 2022 Genesis Invitational
Top-5 Betting Favorites
Book Rank-Player (Odds)
1. Jon Rahm (9-1)
2. Patrick Cantlay (12-1)
3. Justin Thomas (14-1)
4. Dustin Johnson (16-1)
5. Rory McIlroy (20-1)
5. Collin Morikawa (20-1)
3 Bets To Win
Outright Winner
Justin Thomas (+1400) – With 13 of his 14 titles coming since the 2016-17 PGA Tour campaign, Thomas has been the circuit’s most prolific winner over this five-season stretch, with Dustin Johnson (12) the only other player racking up double-digit wins over this time span. Yet, the 28-year-old Kentucky native is coming up on a full year since his last victory (The 2021 PLAYERS). JT, though, looks to be on the verge of a return to the winner’s circle, with four top-10 finishes in his last five starts, including three top-5s. He’s missed the cut in his last two starts at Riviera, but was runner-up to J.B. Holmes in 2019, where he held a four-shot 54-hole lead.
Three other outright picks we like: Patrick Cantlay (+1000), Dustin Johnson (+1600), Hideki Matsuyama (+1800)
Top-5 Finish
Xander Schauffele (+400) – It’s been over three years since Schauffele has captured a PGA Tour trophy (2019 Sentry). A missed birdie putt on No. 18 last week at TPC Scottsdale would have put the reigning Olympic gold medalist into a playoff with Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. Instead, he exited Arizona with his 12th top-3 finish since his last tour victory. The California native has finished in the top 15 in three of four career starts at The Genesis, with a T9 in 2018 his best showing.
Three other top-5 picks we like: Collin Morikawa (+400), Rory McIlroy (+400), Will Zalatoris (+550)
Top-10 Finish
Bubba Watson (+350) – The three-time Genesis winner should not be overlooked this week as the two-time Masters champ appears to be rounding into form, posting two-straight top-15 finishes, highlighted by a runner-up in the super-stacked Saudi event, where he bookended 64s en route to the silver medal spot. At +350 for a top 10 finish, the odds are just too enticing not to take a flyer on the popular lefthander.
Three other top-10 picks we like: Sam Burns (+330), Adam Scott (+350), Tony Finau (+350)
Odds To Win: 2022 Genesis Invitational
Riviera CC | Pacific Palasides, CA | Feb 17-20, 2022
Joel Cook contributed to this report.
