Genesis Open: Expert Picks

Tournament Information:

Genesis Open (formerly Los Angeles Open)

Date: February 15th – 18th

Course: Riviera Country Club

Purse - $7MM ($1.2MM to winner)

FedEx points – 500 to winner

2017 Winner: Dustin Johnson (-17)

Course: Rivera Country Club. Built in 1927 under the then Los Angeles Athletic Club, this event has hosted under the name Los Angeles Open dating back to 1929. At 7,300 yards, the par 71 course, the course runs pretty easy if you don’t get caught up trying to get ahead too quickly. Wind can be an obstacle at times across this longer course, especially without a lot of trees to block cross drafts.

My Starting 4:

Dustin Johnson. It’s not just that he won here last year, or that he was 4^th in 2016. It wasn’t that he was 2^nd in 2015. Wait that’s exactly what it is, it’s all of the three.

Justin Rose. Currently 5^th in the official world golf ranking, Justin comes to Riviera where he finished 4^thlast year and 16^th in 2016. He has participated in three PGA events this season finishing 1^st, 5^th and 8^th. His driver has been strong as he sits 15^th in strokes gained off the tee.

Adam Scott. It seems to me he has been largely forgotten (given his results this season it makes sense – 25^th, 50^th and missed cut) but he comes to the Genesis Open where he finished 11^th last year and 2^nd in 2016. Most of his metrics are strong, he’s 5^th in strokes gained off the tee, 4^th in strokes gained approaching the green, 13^th in strokes gained around the green! Here is what is destroying him, he’s 198^th in strokes gained putting.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Tommy Fleetwood. Welcome to the 2018 PGA season Tommy. He has been on a tear overseas where he finished 6^th at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, 1^st in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, 3^rd in the Hero World Challenge, 6^th in the UBS Hong Kong Open and 21^st in the DP World Tour Championship.

My Bench 2:

Bubba Watson. Nothing too flashy so far this season but he only has one missed cut. He withdrew here last year (potentially due to a hurt wrist) but prior to that he won in 2016 and finished 14^th in 2015.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Martin Laird, he has been boom or bust this season posting a 17^th place finish and most recently a 9^th place finish at the Waste Management Open around 3 missed cuts and a 54^th place finish. He should find comfort at Riviera where he finished 8^th last year and 11^th in 2016. This is a bit of a gamble but I think he can come through. Last year he finished in the top 10 five times, he missed two cuts in the subsequent tournament late in the season but early he came through strong on the next week.

2018 Stats:

Starting 4: Avg Finish 43rd place (33rd percentile)

Bench 2: Avg Finish 43rd place (33rd percentile)