- Tiger Woods will play in his first PGA Tour tournament since the Hero World Challenge in December.
- Despite being the host of The Genesis Invitational, online betting sites do not like Wood’s chances of winning.
- Scottie Scheffler is favored to win the $20 million event at the Riviera Country Club.
According to Bovada’s The Genesis Invitational odds, Tiger Woods has a treacherous road ahead of him to win as tournament host at Riviera Country Club. Currently, Woods is a +15000 long shot to win the star-studded event in Los Angeles.
At +15000, Woods has an implied probability of just 0.7 percent to win The Genesis Invitational. The tournament, which benefits Woods’ TGR Foundation, is hosted annually by Woods. This year, Woods will continue his responsibilities as a host and will play in The Genesis Invitational.
In 2023, Woods made his season debut at The Genesis Invitational. The 48-year-old, 15-time major winner had several ebbs and flows during the event. Despite failing to compete at the top of the field, Woods made the cut and finished under par (-1).
The tournament was a solid test to determine where Woods was physically in his comeback bid from the injuries sustained in a 2021 car crash. It seemed promising, but Woods would play in only two more PGA Tour tournaments.
Woods Winless In Career At The Genesis Invitational
Despite Woods hosting the tournament and being a regular at The Genesis Invitational, he has never won at Riviera Country Club. Formerly known as the LA Open, a runner-up finish in 1999 is Woods’ best result at Riviera Country Club throughout his Hall of Fame career.
Since 1992, Woods has played at Riviera Country Club 14 times in his career. After withdrawing from the event in 2006, Woods took a long hiatus from playing at Riviera Country Club.
In 2018, he returned as host of The Genesis Invitational as a benefit event for his foundation. At his signature tournament, Woods ended up missing the cut for yet another tough performance at Riviera Country Club.
Over Woods’ previous three stops at The Genesis Invitational, he finished T15, 68th, and T45 last year. The T2 finish in 1999 and T5 in 2003 are his only top-5 performances at The Genesis Invitational.
To Woods’ credit, he has shown some signs of improvement in some respects over his last three tournaments at Riviera Country Club. After withdrawing in 2006 and missing the cut in 2018, Woods has at least finished his three latest assignments on this course.
Last year, following his T45 effort, Woods only played two more tournaments in 2023. He withdrew from the Masters following a rough score of 74-73-34 through three rounds at Augusta National.
Woods Plans To Play One Tournament Per Month
According to Woods, he intends to play a minimum of one tournament per month. Following a long break from the Masters to the Hero World Challenge in November, Woods stated that a two-week rest between events should be enough for him in 2024.
“I think that having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there’s no reason why I can’t get into that rhythm”.
After his performance at the Hero World Challenge, there is reason to feel optimistic about Woods’ chances to win a tournament this season. Woods finished at even par for an 18th-place finish at Albany, Bahamas.
Woods was happy with his driver, which was booming for most of the tournament. The most influential player in golf averaged 316.8 yards off the tee. In his previous five events, Woods has averaged 300.2 yards per drive. With that in mind, Woods witnessed a considerable improvement in driving power in the Bahamas.
Nevertheless, oddsmakers are not confident in Woods making a run at The Genesis Invitational title. Even without the injury concerns and layoff, Woods has never been able to solve Riviera Country Club — even in his prime years.
In a year that Woods intends to have a real comeback, perhaps this will finally be the time that Riviera doesn’t escape him. This will not be an easy field to take down, however.
Currently, at Bovada, Scottie Scheffler (+750) is favored to win The Genesis Invitational. Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (+1100) follows Scheffler with the second-best odds to win at Riviera Country Club.
