Genesis Invitational expert picks, best bets for PGA Tour golf at Riviera

Diving into this week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club with our PGA Tour expert picks and best bets for the tournament and stacked field.

After golf fans were treated to both a loaded field and a great tournament in Phoenix last week, it’s back to California on the PGA Tour with a trip to vaunted Riviera Country Club for the Genesis Invitational. And if you thought last week’s field was stacked, you haven’t seen anything yet as we try to make our PGA Tour expert picks with virtually every big name you could imagine playing this week.

Riviera is a difficult test for almost anyone, which is what makes the Genesis Invitational such a treat. Ball-striking from tee-to-green is something that’s a must, but the way greens are situated also makes the short game extremely important as well. In the simplest terms, it takes an all-around performance to win this event.

Before we dive into the picks and best bets this week, though, we have to look at an up-and-down slate from me last week. Sam Burns was a whiff for the One-and-Done pick, as was Viktor Hovland as a pick to win. We missed on Jon Rahm finishing top five but he did come through as a top-10 pick. Max Homa performed well as a longshot pick to win with a T-14 but Talor Gooch was a heartbreaker as a 4-over Sunday dropped him out of the top 20.

Still, we were on the scent last week and it’s time to capitalize as we make our PGA Tour expert picks for the Genesis Invitational.

Note: All odds are courtesy of WynnBet. For more betting picks and advice, check out BetSided.

PGA Tour expert picks for Genesis Invitational: Winner, Top 10, One and Done

One and Done pick for Genesis Invitational: Patrick Cantlay

I’m ready to burn a big dog here after trying to get, frankly, too cute with One-and-Done picks over the past few weeks.

There arguably hasn’t been a better golfer this side of Jon Rahm than Patrick Cantlay over the past few months as he’s racking up top-10 finishes. In his last six starts, he’s gone win, win, fourth, ninth, T-4, and lost in a playoff to Scottie Scheffler last week. Moreover, in his last four trips to the Genesis Invitational, he’s not finished worse than T-17. His all-around game profiles perfectly for success at this course and this is a place where the cream rises to the top. With his form, it’s hard not to bank on that.

Top 10 pick for Genesis Invitational: Dustin Johnson (+185)

We certainly haven’t seen the best from Dustin Johnson over the past few months (and perhaps longer). However, his history at Riviera speaks for itself. He’s finished in the top 10 here in each of his last three starts as well as seven of his last eight trips here — and Johnson has a win back in 2017 also. DJ is one of BetSided’s Iain MacMillan’s picks to win this week and he agrees with the fit but also notes the form is trending up as well.

"Dustin Johnson presents a ton of value this week, as he’s historically dominated at Riviera Country Club. He’s only competed twice this PGA Tour season, but he finished T8 at the Asian Tour’s Saudi International two weeks ago, so it seems like he’s rounding into form.It’s quite simple, nobody has performed better than DJ at Riviera dating back to 2009."

At plus odds, this feels like a mortal lock.

Pick to Win Genesis Invitational: Patrick Cantlay (+1200)

I’m not going to belabor the point with Cantlay but the guy is just bound to win sometime soon. His game is in terrific form with the ability to gain strokes on the field in every facet. He’s been flirting with a victory and I think this course sets up for him to finally get over the hump and hoist the trophy next to Tiger Woods on Sunday.

PGA Tour best bets for Genesis Invitational

Note: These best bets were compiled before matchups were released on WynnBet. 

Will Zalatoris to Top 10 (+300)

I’ve been extremely high on Will Zalatoris as of late as I firmly believe he’s due to get a win á la Scottie Scheffler. He might not win this week, but his ball-striking profile is perfect for Riviera and you’re getting great value on a top-10 finish as he’s returning from a positive COVID-19 test. He also finished T-15 at this event last year and, with the improvement I’ve seen so far this year, I like for him to better that and pay off with a top 10. (Also, DJ finishing in the top 10 would also be considered a best bet for me as well.)

Wyndham Clark to Top 20 (+650)

Don’t put a full unit on this by any means but this is a play that’s definitely worth a sprinkle with the odds you’re getting. Clark hasn’t been in the best form and, frankly, his erratic statistical profile doesn’t seem to fit. For whatever reason, though, he’s played above his normal ceiling at Riviera with a T-8 and T-17 in his two entries into this tournament. I’m willing to give that a look with +650 odds and have a little investment on him to just be a horse for this course.

Longshot pick to win: Lanto Griffin (+10000)

Lanto Griffin could be someone sneaky here at Riviera. His course history doesn’t stand out all that much with a T-37 and T-26 in his two trips. However, his recent for has been interesting as he’s gaining strokes in every facet of his game, most notably curing a short game that plagued him much of last season. At these odds with the way he’s trending and the fact that he’s won on the PGA Tour before, Griffin is worth a small sprinkle on the chance that he keeps putting it all together and finds himself among the big names atop the leaderboard.

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