The PGA Tour heads to the Pacific Palisades and the famed Riviera Country Club for the Genesis Invitational, which is back at Riviera Country Club after having to play at Torrey Pines because of the devastating wildfires that tore through the Pacific Palisades community in 2025. Riviera Country Club decided to bulk up the golf course a little bit before the U.S. Women’s Open tees it up here this summer and for when the Olympic golf tournament comes in 2028.
They lengthened the finishing hole by 14 yards, making it a difficult 499-yard closer with one of the prettiest backdrops in all of golf. They also decided to lengthen the Par 3 fourth hole to a possible 273 yards, which seems a little ridiculous to me.
The Genesis Invitational is another signature event, but it will feature a cut after 36 holes with the top 50 in ties, including those who are 10 shots behind the leaders, making the money.
Riviera Country Club will test this field in more ways than Pebble Beach did last week. The fairways are very difficult to hit off the tee, and the green complexes are large with difficult bunkers and chipping areas surrounding them. Players will be forced to use their entire bag and will need to be precise with their mid irons if they want a chance at par breakers on some of the difficult Par 4s.
Course history will factor a little more heavily this week to go along with strokes gained from 175-200 yards, strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained around the green and strokes gained on putting from 15-20 feet. Longer-term strokes gained numbers seem to come into play more here than recent form, but I won’t ignore recent form.
Course information
Riviera Country Club
Designer: George Thomas
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,383
Average green size: 7,500 sq. feet
Greens: Poa annua
Fairways and rough: Kikuyu
Past champions: Ludvig Åberg 2025 (at Torrey Pines), Hideki Matsuyama 2024, Jon Rahm 2023, Joaquin Niemann 2022, Max Homa 2021, Adam Scott 2020
Betting slip
Hideki Matsuyama (+2200) continued his stellar play to start the season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, finishing with a solid T8. He gained over 9.4 strokes combined on approach, around the green and with the putter for the week. He won here in 2024 and has four other top 11 finishes here in his career. His driver is a bit of a concern, but he drove it a little better on Sunday and looked solid down the stretch.
Tommy Fleetwood (+2200) made his first start on the PGA Tour since his FedEx Cup win in September and picked up right where he left off with a T4, gaining strokes across the board. His finishing position has improved every time he has teed it up at Riviera Country Club, and he has seemed to figure out these greens over time. I liked what I saw last week and think he is going to be in contention this week.
Cameron Young (+3500) hasn’t started the year as strongly as I would have liked, but that allows us to get him at a very nice number on a golf course where his driver and putting can make a huge difference. Young has struggled with his irons lately, losing over 4.6 strokes combined on approach over his last two tournaments. He has struggled around the greens here, but has a second place finish and two other top 20s in his three trips here.
Viktor Hovland (+4200) hurt me last week. His wayward driver was once again a big problem. He has lost over 5.4 strokes combined off the tee in his last two tournaments. He has two top-five finishes here with two other top-20 finishes in his four trips to Riviera Country Club. His iron play has remained strong, and his around-the-green game has improved dramatically this season before struggling a bit last week.
DFS plays
High-priced plays
Scottie Scheffler ($14,300) is once again the highest-priced player in the field, but how can we not consider playing him? Week after week he contends and puts up huge fantasy numbers with eagles and birdies in bunches. He has gained strokes across the board in all three tournaments to start 2026 and has been better at Riviera Country Club lately, with three top-12 finishes in his last three trips here. Tiger Woods never won at Riviera Country Club, even when he was at the zenith of his powers, so it will be interesting to see if Scottie can break through this week. If you are using him you will need to skip the $9,000 range for your next highest priced golfer, but the $8,000 range has some good options who could contend this week for your Scottie cards.
Tommy Fleetwood ($10,300) See above.
Hideki Matsuyama ($9,500) See above.
Patrick Cantlay ($9,300) has been average off the tee to start the year, but he has two top-14 finishes in his first three starts of the season and really loves this golf course. Cantlay has three top-four finishes at this course since 2018, and he gained over 4 strokes on approach last week. I think a lot of people will be looking at Xander Schauffele at a higher price this week, and Cantlay may be the play that gets you over the top.
Cameron Young ($9,100) See above.
Mid-tier plays
Viktor Hovland ($9,000) See above.
Jake Knapp ($8,600) continued his strong start to the season last week at Pebble Beach, and it looks like he has turned a corner with his game. He continues to put himself in a position to contend, and it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through. He gained strokes across the board last week and was only a hot putter away from contending at the WM Phoenix Open. He has never teed it up as a professional at Riviera Country Club, but I suspect he has some experience here as a Southern California kid.
Matt Fitzpatrick ($8,400) has two straight top-14 finishes while gaining over 18.6 strokes combined off the tee and on approach in his last two tournaments. You cannot ignore that type of ball-striking, even if he has burned you once or twice here before. He had a T5 here in 2021, but struggled in his next two trips to Riviera Country Club. I like Fitzpatrick a lot this week and bet him early when his number was a little higher.
Lower-middle-tier plays
Adam Scott ($7,900) has won twice here and is priced in an area where I think he may be ignored this week. He has started out the year slowly with his around-the-green game and his putter, but his off-the-tee numbers and his ball-striking look like vintage Adam Scott.
Jason Day ($7,900) struggled with his approach game at Pebble Beach, but played better on Sunday to secure a top 25 finish. He had two straight top-9 finishes here in 2023 and 2024 after struggling for years at this golf course. There’s a lot to like with Day to start the year if he can put it all together.
Shane Lowry ($7,800) has started out 2026 with excellent approach numbers. He has gained over 21 strokes combined on approach in his last three golf tournaments. He had a T14 the last time he teed it up at Riviera Country Club in 2023 after not really doing anything at this golf course before that. Lowry was always one who seemed to build towards the Florida golf swing, but starting the year on the DP World Tour seems to have kick-started his season.
Low-priced options
Jacob Bridgeman ($6,800) made a mess of the 18th hole on Sunday, but his overall week was huge for my DFS teams. I thought he played a little too quickly at times down the stretch, and who can blame him for feeling pressure with that field and the amount of money at stake? I think this price is too low for how well he has played to start the year, and I will put him in some lineups because of that.
Ryo Hisatsune ($6,800) continued his hot start with a terrific finish on the 18th at Pebble Beach. He has some magical hands around the green and has been terrific with his putter lately. He has basically gained strokes across the board for three straight tournaments, but he has never teed it up here before. I was pretty much all in on Ryo and Bridgeman as my low-priced plays last week, and they paid off. I’m going to be a little more cautious this week, but he’s still in play.
Ryan Fox ($6,500) continued to be a solid option in the low-priced bin last week. He was neck and neck with Day all weekend and has two straight top-24 finishes. He has gained strokes putting in four straight tournaments, and he gained over 3.7 strokes off the tee at Pebble Beach. I think Fox and Tom Hoge are the only two below the $6,800 range I would consider this week.
One and done
Day didn’t bank a lot of money for me last week, and I am kicking myself a bit that I didn’t at least take a chance on Akshay Bhatia in more of my one-and-dones. It’s much easier to gamble and pivot when you have multiple entries. This week, I am looking at Patrick Cantlay, Tommy Fleetwood and Cameron Young as my main options. I’m leaning towards Cantlay as I write this, but check the comments in case I change my mind by Wednesday.