Do you only watch golf tournaments when Tiger Woods is participating? Then The Genesis Invitational will be the perfect event for you.
Woods will step on the golf course for his first tournament this season. The 15-time major championship winner is on The Genesis Invitational odds board in 2023.
The last event that Woods played in was in The Open at St. Andrews1. Following a seven-month hiatus, Eldrick (Tiger) returns for the biggest PGA Tour tournament of the winter.
The Genesis Invitational attracts the best golfers in the world to the Pacific Palisades, CA, where The Riviera Country Club features 7,332 yards with a par of 712.
There are some tricky elements at The Riviera Country Club, but overall, this is not the toughest test on the PGA Tour. When the weather isn’t a problem, there are some big scores at the top of the leaderboard.
Let’s check out the latest golf odds at the top golf betting sites and make some Genesis Invitational predictions.
The Genesis Invitational Betting Odds
2023 The Genesis Invitational Odds Courtesy of Bovada:
| GOLFER | ODDS | OWGR |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Rahm | +800 | 3 |
| Rory McIlroy | +1100 | 2 |
| Scottie Scheffler | +1100 | 1 |
| Justin Thomas | +1600 | 7 |
| Tony Finau | +1800 | 13 |
| Xander Schauffele | +1800 | 6 |
| Max Homa | +2000 | 12 |
| Collin Morikawa | +2200 | 9 |
| Jordan Spieth | +2500 | 16 |
| Viktor Hovland | +2500 | 11 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2800 | 5 |
| Sam Burns | +2800 | 14 |
| Cameron Young | +3300 | 17 |
| Sungjae Im | +3300 | 18 |
| Will Zalatoris | +3300 | 8 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +4000 | 20 |
| Jason Day | +4000 | 57 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +4000 | 10 |
| Tom Kim | +4000 | 15 |
Tiger is the main attraction in The Genesis Invitational. However, he is not the only notable golfer that will participate in this tournament. According to Golfweek, 23 of the Top 25 players in the world entered to play in The Genesis Invitational3.
Along with Woods playing in his first event on the PGA Tour in 2023, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler are competing at the Riviera Country Club. McIlroy made his season debut last weekend in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
They are all vying for the top prize out of an impressive $20 million purse. The $20 million purse is the largest of the 2022-23 season thus far. This event is worth $5 million more than the Sentry Tournament of Champions in early January.
Everyone is pumped to hear @TigerWoods is teeing it up next week @TheGenesisInv. pic.twitter.com/q6zjACv5qg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 11, 2023
Are Tiger Woods’ Genesis Invitational Odds Good Value?
There is a warning for bettors on tournaments that Woods plays in. There is always a tax to pay when betting on the legendary golfer over these past few years. The Genesis Invitational odds are no different for Woods.
Even at +10000, his odds do not present the best value to win. The oddsmakers are well aware that the money will come in on him regardless of his recent form or health. His true odds are probably closer to +15000 with Matt Kuchar and J.J. Spaun.
Despite making his debut as a 16-year-old at Riviera, and playing here 11 times on the PGA Tour, Woods has never won a tournament here4. This is a golf course we are sure he would like to win at before retiring.
Favorites For The Genesis Invitational
There are no shockers at the top of The Genesis Invitational betting odds. Whenever McIlroy, Rahm, and Scheffler are in a tournament, there is a strong chance they are favored. Rahm is the favorite and only golfer with odds below +1000.
The winner of the WM Phoenix Open last week, Scheffler, is at +1100 with McIlroy. Scheffler finished the final round at -19 to beat Nick Taylor by two strokes5. He was the most consistent golfer on the PGA Tour last year and should be a major threat in 2023, as well.
The Genesis Invitational Past Winners
As we noted, Woods hasn’t had a great deal of success in his career at The Riviera Country Club. Not only has he never won this tournament, but a lot would have to go right for Woods to win on Sunday. And, I don’t see that happening.
Mike Weir won back-to-back in 2003 and 2004, and then Phil Mickelson won consecutive tournaments in 2008 and 2009. Since then, Bubba Watson has had the most success with wins in 2014, 2016, and 20186.
Joaquin Niemann is coming off a win at The Genesis Invitational in 2022. It was the first time a player shot better than 270 in this event since Dustin Johnson did it in 2017. Niemann will not be present to defend his title after defecting for LIV Golf.
Let’s take a quick look at the most recent golfers to win The Genesis Invitational7.
| YEAR | GOLFER | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
2023 The Genesis Invitational Weather Forecast
The Genesis Invitational is not expected to be particularly warm. However, the conditions at The Riviera Country Club should be ideal for playing golf this weekend.
With temperatures in the low to mid-60s and little wind, there will be no excuses for golfers in this event. The wind is not forecasted to touch over 10 mph during any of the four rounds. In other words, the weather should not be used as a variable when handicapping this event.
The Genesis Invitational Predictions
After going through The 2023 Genesis Invitational odds, we have made three bets to win the tournament. Being a profitable golf bettor does not require being perfect every week.
We did not have a winner last week, but we’re still in the green this season after Max Homa won the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago.
Is Tiger going to be on your betting card for The Genesis Invitational? He might be worth betting simply to have a reason to support him this weekend. However, do not expect him to be a top competitor.
Are you kidding 🤯@McIlroyRory has no issues from the trees @WMPhoenixOpen. pic.twitter.com/t6Ljad7w3o
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 9, 2023
Rory McIlroy (+1100)
Last weekend was not a good spot for Rory McIlroy. His effort was disappointing at TPC Scottsdale in the WM Phoenix Open. McIlroy finished T32 with a final score of -4 in his first PGA event this year8.
After his win on Sunday, Scheffler overtook McIlroy in the Official World Golf Ranking9. However, despite the poor performance from Rory, he was still coming off a win at the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
McIlroy edged out Patrick Reed by a stroke to finish -19 under par on the European Tour10. He did not show up in Arizona last week, but his recent form is not as bad as that result suggests.
The defending FedEx Cup champion will likely bounce back with a better effort in California. McIlroy has won two of the previous three tournaments that he has entered.
Also, McIlroy has finished in the Top 5 in seven of his last eight outings11. Since winning the Tour Championship in late August, McIlroy has been in great form.
We will not be deterred from betting on Rory just because of last weekend. In fact, the outlier performance is resulting in better value on The Genesis Invitational odds board.
For the 2021-22 season, McIlroy was 3rd with 10 top 10 finishes. McIlroy also won three PGA Tour events, which is the second-most tournament wins last season12.
Rory is a great value bet to win at +1100 in The Genesis Invitational. Expect this $20 million tournament to have his full attention in Los Angeles.
The 15 best Strokes Gained weeks of the year.
Tony Finau had four of them and also had the only non-victory in the group. pic.twitter.com/9yEbNdYmFb
— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) December 6, 2022
Tony Finau (+1800)
Tony Finau entered this season with plenty of hype. He is still a trendy pick to win a major championship in 2023.
Finau had a career season on the PGA Tour in 2022. After struggling to finish strong in previous years, the 33-year-old won three events last year13.
In his most recent win, Finau won the Houston Open in November. Despite not winning since then, he has been competitive lately.
In his previous five outings, Finau has finished 7th, T7, T17, T9, and T14. Most recently, T14 at the WM Phoenix Open14.
Finau’s numbers have been sharp heading into this weekend’s tourney at The Riviera Country Club. He is 3rd in scoring average and 2nd in SG: Total in 2022-2315.
It shouldn’t be long before Finau finds the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour again. The Genesis Invitational betting odds have a generous price for Finau at Bovada.
Two putts away from defending his title @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/PlNEWTECHx
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 21, 2022
Patrick Cantlay (+2800)
It would not be sharp of us to ignore Patrick Cantlay at +2800 to win The Genesis Invitational. The fifth-highest-ranked golfer in the world is coming off a tough showing at the WM Phoenix Open.
Cantlay did not make the cut for the first time in 14 tournaments. Prior to the WM Phoenix Open, Cantlay finished T26, T16, T2, T16, and 1st in his last five events16.
Cantlay won the BMW Championship in the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs on August 2117. He made a spectacular shot out of a fairway bunker to close out the field at Wilmington Country Club.
The native of Long Beach has not gotten off to the start that he hoped for this season. That being said, Cantlay has been better than his T26 performance in Arizona from last week indicates.
He leads the PGA Tour in birdie average and greens in regulation. Cantlay has reached 76.98% of greens in regulation going into the first round on Thursday18.
There is good value on Cantlay to win The Genesis Invitational in 2023. Consider betting on the most undervalued player on The Genesis Invitational odds board.
Sources
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