PGA Tour 2023 - The Genesis Invitational

[Splatt]

G’day Golfers,

This week we’re heading to the Riviera Country Club for The Genesis Invitational.

To start with let’s just say:

THE BIG CAT IS BACK!
This event probably didn’t need any more hype, but last week Tiger ‘Freakin’ Woods confirmed he was playing The Genesis. Tiger (currently ranked 1,294 in the world) is playing his first event since The Open Championship in July 2022, and his first non-major event since The Zozo in October 2020.

Will he win? Fingers crossed, but probably not.
Will he make the cut? The odds are stacked against him.
Will I watch every single shot he hits at Riviera CC? You’re damn right I will.
 

Tiger is already smashing it at the range.

This is the second designated event in a row meaning the field is stacked. All of the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will tee it up at Riviera along with 23 of the top 25 in the world. It’s going to be a tough weekend of work for anyone who makes the cut or is in the hunt for the trophy.

Riviera Country Club, par 71, 7,322 yards. The Riv (as it’s colloquially known), long ranked as one of the best in the world, features a compact design built to test all aspects of a player’s game. For years this has been in my top 5 that are played on Tour. That opening elevated tee shot, that long par-3 4th hole, that short par-4 10th hole; even for the best in the world, this course is a challenge.  

Last year, Joaquin Niemann became the tournament's first wire-to-wire in 53 years and set The Genesis Invitational’s record for lowest 36 and 54-hole scores. Unfortunately, he will not be back to defend his title as he left the PGA Tour for LIV.

 

Field Highlights

·         Tiger Woods – Realistically, he is no real threat to the rest of the big players on the field. The Big Cat has battled with plantar fasciitis for a while now and Riviera is no walk in the park, both in traversal and difficulty. However, The Great Man could chunk it all the way around and he’d still be a highlight worth watching. He’s also Tiger Woods, and if anyone can pull a miraculous round out of nowhere, it’s this man. Fingers crossed he makes the cut and gives everyone another weekend of his work. Who knows how many rounds Tiger has left in him?

 

·         Max Homa – Has teed it up in 6 Tour events this season and won twice. He’s currently 2nd in the FedEx cup standings and has earnt over $4 million. Not bad for this early in the season (I’d certainly take it, especially the $$$) Max has already had some success here winning in 2021.

 

·         Sungjae Im – Im has played in 9 events so far this year and only missed one cut. In his last 3 events, he’s played some decent golf and finished well with a T18 at The American Express, a T4 at The Famers insurance, and a T6 at last week's WM Phoenix Open. He’s definitely trending towards his first win of the season.

 

·         Tyrrell Hatton – Mr Grumpy himself. Tyrrel has hit a sneaky bit of form recently. He’s played a total of 5 times this season and not missed a cut, with A T-6 last week at The Phoenix Open and a T-7 a few weeks ago at the Abu Dhabi Championship. He’s only played this competition once before, where he, unfortunately, didn’t make the cut but I imagine it’ll be different this time. If not, we’ll get to enjoy some trademark bleeped highlights.

 

·         Tom Kim – A superstar in the making, if he can capitalise on the hype he’s generated. Only 20 years old and currently ranked 15th in the OWGR and 6th in the FedEx cup standings. He already has a win under his belt this season at the Shriners Children’s Open, and he’s only missed one cut in 8 starts.

 

 

Let’s hope for another exciting week at a designated event, and for those of us in the MGS Pick ‘Em: may your picks make the cut.

Cheers,

 

Splatt

[GolfSpy_APH]

1 hour ago, Splatt said:

G’day Golfers,

This week we’re heading to the Riviera Country Club for The Genesis Invitational.

To start with let’s just say:

THE BIG CAT IS BACK!
This event probably didn’t need any more hype, but last week Tiger ‘Freakin’ Woods confirmed he was playing The Genesis. Tiger (currently ranked 1,294 in the world) is playing his first event since The Open Championship in July 2022, and his first non-major event since The Zozo in October 2020.

Will he win? Fingers crossed, but probably not.
Will he make the cut? The odds are stacked against him.
Will I watch every single shot he hits at Riviera CC? You’re damn right I will.
 

Tiger is already smashing it at the range.

This is the second designated event in a row meaning the field is stacked. All of the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will tee it up at Riviera along with 23 of the top 25 in the world. It’s going to be a tough weekend of work for anyone who makes the cut or is in the hunt for the trophy.

Riviera Country Club, par 71, 7,322 yards. The Riv (as it’s colloquially known), long ranked as one of the best in the world, features a compact design built to test all aspects of a player’s game. For years this has been in my top 5 that are played on Tour. That opening elevated tee shot, that long par-3 4th hole, that short par-4 10th hole; even for the best in the world, this course is a challenge.  

Last year, Joaquin Niemann became the tournament's first wire-to-wire in 53 years and set The Genesis Invitational’s record for lowest 36 and 54-hole scores. Unfortunately, he will not be back to defend his title as he left the PGA Tour for LIV.

 

Field Highlights

·         Tiger Woods – Realistically, he is no real threat to the rest of the big players on the field. The Big Cat has battled with plantar fasciitis for a while now and Riviera is no walk in the park, both in traversal and difficulty. However, The Great Man could chunk it all the way around and he’d still be a highlight worth watching. He’s also Tiger Woods, and if anyone can pull a miraculous round out of nowhere, it’s this man. Fingers crossed he makes the cut and gives everyone another weekend of his work. Who knows how many rounds Tiger has left in him?

 

·         Max Homa – Has teed it up in 6 Tour events this season and won twice. He’s currently 2nd in the FedEx cup standings and has earnt over $4 million. Not bad for this early in the season (I’d certainly take it, especially the $$$) Max has already had some success here winning in 2021.

 

·         Sungjae Im – Im has played in 9 events so far this year and only missed one cut. In his last 3 events, he’s played some decent golf and finished well with a T18 at The American Express, a T4 at The Famers insurance, and a T6 at last week's WM Phoenix Open. He’s definitely trending towards his first win of the season.

 

·         Tyrrell Hatton – Mr Grumpy himself. Tyrrel has hit a sneaky bit of form recently. He’s played a total of 5 times this season and not missed a cut, with A T-6 last week at The Phoenix Open and a T-7 a few weeks ago at the Abu Dhabi Championship. He’s only played this competition once before, where he, unfortunately, didn’t make the cut but I imagine it’ll be different this time. If not, we’ll get to enjoy some trademark bleeped highlights.

 

·         Tom Kim – A superstar in the making, if he can capitalise on the hype he’s generated. Only 20 years old and currently ranked 15th in the OWGR and 6th in the FedEx cup standings. He already has a win under his belt this season at the Shriners Children’s Open, and he’s only missed one cut in 8 starts.

 

 

Let’s hope for another exciting week at a designated event, and for those of us in the MGS Pick ‘Em: may your picks make the cut.

Cheers,

 

Splatt

Another killer recap going into the week!

Tiger will be a huge story of course and it will be interesting to see him back playing. However it is the others that I am more excited to see. Love that you highlighted Hatton there as he is one of my all time favourites. 

No returning champ as you said and this is a course which has had some surprising winners and newer winners. 

Great field again and I have my picks locked in!

[Splatt]

I really struggled with the highlights this week. I could have picked 20 guys and still wanted to add more. The field is so good.

I'm a big Hatton fan as well. Me and my mate quote him a fair bit on the course when things aren't going well 

 

[xOldBenKenobiX]

This week has a stacked field, I am excited to see Tiger, JT and Rory teeing off together.

 

 

[Splatt]

29 minutes ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

This week has a stacked field, I am excited to see Tiger, JT and Rory teeing off together.

 

 

Couldn't ask for a better group

[xOldBenKenobiX]

3 minutes ago, Splatt said:

Couldn't ask for a better group

Well right behind them is another great group with Scheffler, Spieth and Morikawa.

And the Rahm, Canthlay and Hovland pairing should be really nice too.

2023 Genesis Invitational Round 1 tee times (All times ET)

Tee No. 1

9:40 a.m. – Russell Knox, Nick Watney, Thomas Detry
9:51 a.m. – Peter Malnati, Doc Redman, Kramer Hickok
10:02 a.m. – James Hahn, Danny Lee, Ben Taylor
10:13 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Tom Hoge, Luke Donald
10:24 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Martin Laird, Lanto Griffin
10:35 a.m. – Chez Reavie, Robert Streb, Gary Woodland
10:46 a.m. – Stewart Cink, Brendon Todd, Francesco Molinari
10:57 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar
11:08 a.m. – Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Brian Harman
11:19 a.m. – David Lipsky, Lee Hodges
11:30 a.m. – Nick Hardy, Adrian Meronk, Marcus Byrd
2:20 p.m. – Kevin Tway, Alex Noren, Matthew NeSmith
2:31 p.m. – Keith Mitchell, Chesson Hadley, Greyson Sigg
2:42 p.m. – Troy Merritt, Scott Piercy, Matt Wallace
2:53 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Taylor
3:04 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
3:15 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa
3:26 p.m. – Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama, Shane Lowry
3:37 p.m. – Sam Burns, K.H. Lee, Cameron Young
3:48 p.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Schenk
3:59 p.m. – Adam Long, Denny McCarthy, Sahith Theegala
4:10 p.m. – Davis Thompson, S.H. Kim, Justin Suh

Tee No. 10

9:40 a.m. – Kevin Streelman, Kelly Kraft, Taylor Montgomery
9:51 a.m. – Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Moore
10:02 a.m. – Danny Willett, Callum Tarren, Matthias Schwab
10:13 a.m. – Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im, Jason Day
10:24 a.m. – Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland
10:35 a.m. – Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Adam Scott
10:46 a.m. – Max Homa, Tom Kim, Xander Schauffele
10:57 a.m. – Will Zalatoris, Cameron Champ, J.B. Holmes
11:08 a.m. – Dylan Frittelli, Beau Hossler, Wyndham Clark
11:19 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Kurt Kitayama, Stephan Jaeger
11:30 a.m. – Aaron Rai, Keita Nakajima
2:20 p.m. – Corey Conners, Emiliano Grillo, Justin Lower
2:31 p.m. – Adam Hadwin, Scott Stallings, Max McGreevy
2:42 p.m. – Nate Lashley, Alex Smalley, Austin Smotherman
2:53 p.m. – Luke List, Kevin Kisner, Cam Davis
3:04 p.m. – Russell Henley, Ryan Brehm, Tyler Duncan
3:15 p.m. – Seamus Power, Chad Ramey, Lucas Glover
3:26 p.m. – Trey Mullinax, Lucas Herbert, Harris English
3:37 p.m. – J.J. Spaun, Michael Thompson, Tyrrell Hatton
3:48 p.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Mark Hubbard, Doug Ghim
3:59 p.m. – Andrew Putnam, Sam Ryder, Brandon Wu
4:10 p.m. – Yeongsu Kim, Jack Wall

[GolfSpy_APH]

2 hours ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

Well right behind them is another great group with Scheffler, Spieth and Morikawa.

And the Rahm, Canthlay and Hovland pairing should be really nice too.

2023 Genesis Invitational Round 1 tee times (All times ET)

Tee No. 1

9:40 a.m. – Russell Knox, Nick Watney, Thomas Detry
9:51 a.m. – Peter Malnati, Doc Redman, Kramer Hickok
10:02 a.m. – James Hahn, Danny Lee, Ben Taylor
10:13 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Tom Hoge, Luke Donald
10:24 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Martin Laird, Lanto Griffin
10:35 a.m. – Chez Reavie, Robert Streb, Gary Woodland
10:46 a.m. – Stewart Cink, Brendon Todd, Francesco Molinari
10:57 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar
11:08 a.m. – Adam Svensson, Joel Dahmen, Brian Harman
11:19 a.m. – David Lipsky, Lee Hodges
11:30 a.m. – Nick Hardy, Adrian Meronk, Marcus Byrd
2:20 p.m. – Kevin Tway, Alex Noren, Matthew NeSmith
2:31 p.m. – Keith Mitchell, Chesson Hadley, Greyson Sigg
2:42 p.m. – Troy Merritt, Scott Piercy, Matt Wallace
2:53 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Taylor
3:04 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods
3:15 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa
3:26 p.m. – Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama, Shane Lowry
3:37 p.m. – Sam Burns, K.H. Lee, Cameron Young
3:48 p.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Schenk
3:59 p.m. – Adam Long, Denny McCarthy, Sahith Theegala
4:10 p.m. – Davis Thompson, S.H. Kim, Justin Suh

Tee No. 10

9:40 a.m. – Kevin Streelman, Kelly Kraft, Taylor Montgomery
9:51 a.m. – Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Hayden Buckley, Taylor Moore
10:02 a.m. – Danny Willett, Callum Tarren, Matthias Schwab
10:13 a.m. – Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im, Jason Day
10:24 a.m. – Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland
10:35 a.m. – Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Adam Scott
10:46 a.m. – Max Homa, Tom Kim, Xander Schauffele
10:57 a.m. – Will Zalatoris, Cameron Champ, J.B. Holmes
11:08 a.m. – Dylan Frittelli, Beau Hossler, Wyndham Clark
11:19 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Kurt Kitayama, Stephan Jaeger
11:30 a.m. – Aaron Rai, Keita Nakajima
2:20 p.m. – Corey Conners, Emiliano Grillo, Justin Lower
2:31 p.m. – Adam Hadwin, Scott Stallings, Max McGreevy
2:42 p.m. – Nate Lashley, Alex Smalley, Austin Smotherman
2:53 p.m. – Luke List, Kevin Kisner, Cam Davis
3:04 p.m. – Russell Henley, Ryan Brehm, Tyler Duncan
3:15 p.m. – Seamus Power, Chad Ramey, Lucas Glover
3:26 p.m. – Trey Mullinax, Lucas Herbert, Harris English
3:37 p.m. – J.J. Spaun, Michael Thompson, Tyrrell Hatton
3:48 p.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Mark Hubbard, Doug Ghim
3:59 p.m. – Andrew Putnam, Sam Ryder, Brandon Wu
4:10 p.m. – Yeongsu Kim, Jack Wall

Sign me for the Homa Kim Xander group!

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Getting into the meat of the season! Be fun watching the next few days. Golf season in full swing (dadun cha)

[Kenny B]

12 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Sign me for the Homa Kim Xander group!

I like this group!  A couple of top southern California guys and Tom Kim is the real deal.  If they all play off each other, they all could be there on Sunday.

[GolfSpy TCB]

5 hours ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

This week has a stacked field, I am excited to see Tiger, JT and Rory teeing off together.

 

 

Is it just me, or does this feel like a little brother unwantedly tagging along with his cooler older brother and his brother's cool friend... because his Mom made him.  

[tdroma98]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Sign me for the Homa Kim Xander group!

Any one of the three can win this tourney this week! Great pairing!

[Jim Shaw]

10 hours ago, Splatt said:

G’day Golfers,

This week we’re heading to the Riviera Country Club for The Genesis Invitational.

To start with let’s just say:

THE BIG CAT IS BACK!
This event probably didn’t need any more hype, but last week Tiger ‘Freakin’ Woods confirmed he was playing The Genesis. Tiger (currently ranked 1,294 in the world) is playing his first event since The Open Championship in July 2022, and his first non-major event since The Zozo in October 2020.

Will he win? Fingers crossed, but probably not.
Will he make the cut? The odds are stacked against him.
Will I watch every single shot he hits at Riviera CC? You’re damn right I will.
 

Tiger is already smashing it at the range.

This is the second designated event in a row meaning the field is stacked. All of the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will tee it up at Riviera along with 23 of the top 25 in the world. It’s going to be a tough weekend of work for anyone who makes the cut or is in the hunt for the trophy.

Riviera Country Club, par 71, 7,322 yards. The Riv (as it’s colloquially known), long ranked as one of the best in the world, features a compact design built to test all aspects of a player’s game. For years this has been in my top 5 that are played on Tour. That opening elevated tee shot, that long par-3 4th hole, that short par-4 10th hole; even for the best in the world, this course is a challenge.  

Last year, Joaquin Niemann became the tournament's first wire-to-wire in 53 years and set The Genesis Invitational’s record for lowest 36 and 54-hole scores. Unfortunately, he will not be back to defend his title as he left the PGA Tour for LIV.

 

Field Highlights

·         Tiger Woods – Realistically, he is no real threat to the rest of the big players on the field. The Big Cat has battled with plantar fasciitis for a while now and Riviera is no walk in the park, both in traversal and difficulty. However, The Great Man could chunk it all the way around and he’d still be a highlight worth watching. He’s also Tiger Woods, and if anyone can pull a miraculous round out of nowhere, it’s this man. Fingers crossed he makes the cut and gives everyone another weekend of his work. Who knows how many rounds Tiger has left in him?

 

·         Max Homa – Has teed it up in 6 Tour events this season and won twice. He’s currently 2nd in the FedEx cup standings and has earnt over $4 million. Not bad for this early in the season (I’d certainly take it, especially the $$$) Max has already had some success here winning in 2021.

 

·         Sungjae Im – Im has played in 9 events so far this year and only missed one cut. In his last 3 events, he’s played some decent golf and finished well with a T18 at The American Express, a T4 at The Famers insurance, and a T6 at last week's WM Phoenix Open. He’s definitely trending towards his first win of the season.

 

·         Tyrrell Hatton – Mr Grumpy himself. Tyrrel has hit a sneaky bit of form recently. He’s played a total of 5 times this season and not missed a cut, with A T-6 last week at The Phoenix Open and a T-7 a few weeks ago at the Abu Dhabi Championship. He’s only played this competition once before, where he, unfortunately, didn’t make the cut but I imagine it’ll be different this time. If not, we’ll get to enjoy some trademark bleeped highlights.

 

·         Tom Kim – A superstar in the making, if he can capitalise on the hype he’s generated. Only 20 years old and currently ranked 15th in the OWGR and 6th in the FedEx cup standings. He already has a win under his belt this season at the Shriners Children’s Open, and he’s only missed one cut in 8 starts.

 

 

Let’s hope for another exciting week at a designated event, and for those of us in the MGS Pick ‘Em: may your picks make the cut.

Cheers,

 

Splatt

not one of the players I picked... Poa annue is the deal breaker again this week, looks like the weather will not be an issue, let the fun begin....

[Splatt]

2 hours ago, Jim Shaw said:

not one of the players I picked... Poa annue is the deal breaker again this week, looks like the weather will not be an issue, let the fun begin....

Probably smart choice there 

[GolfSpy_BOS]

I always look forward to seeing the pros attack this course. Some very interesting short holes that can still turn quick into bogey or worse. 
 

Tiger in the field will obviously be a massive draw for attention but man this field is loaded again. I love it!

[GolfSpy_APH]

Awesome video by the PGA Tour. Goes through number 10 and the making of the course as well as some history. 

I didn't know the course was made for a ridiculous cost at the time of 250k. 

Also didn't realize that the 2028 Olympics it will be the golf venue. 

 

[Splatt]

3 hours ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

I always look forward to seeing the pros attack this course. Some very interesting short holes that can still turn quick into bogey or worse. 
 

Tiger in the field will obviously be a massive draw for attention but man this field is loaded again. I love it!

Even on the video game, I always get in trouble on those short par 4's, haha

[GolfSpy TCB]

The only bad part about the west coast swing of tour events... is having to wait for it to get light on the west coast for the golf to start!!    Looking forward to the Genesis this weekend.  

I'm going out on a limb... after the way he played last year as this event... I'm looking for Cameron Young to get his first PGA Tour Win at Riviera.  

[cnosil]

3 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

The only bad part about the west coast swing of tour events... is having to wait for it to get light on the west coast for the golf to start!!    Looking forward to the Genesis this weekend.  

I'm going out on a limb... after the way he played last year as this event... I'm looking for Cameron Young to get his first PGA Tour Win at Riviera.  

15 minutes until ESPN+ coverage starts.  Passing time watching the Asian tour and DP tour coverage on golf channel

[Splatt]

19 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

The only bad part about the west coast swing of tour events... is having to wait for it to get light on the west coast for the golf to start!!    Looking forward to the Genesis this weekend.  

I'm going out on a limb... after the way he played last year as this event... I'm looking for Cameron Young to get his first PGA Tour Win at Riviera.  

Good call on Cam. I like it

[GolfSpy TCB]

8 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Awesome video by the PGA Tour. Goes through number 10 and the making of the course as well as some history. 

I didn't know the course was made for a ridiculous cost at the time of 250k. 

Also didn't realize that the 2028 Olympics it will be the golf venue. 

 

That was a GREAT package.  Really enjoyable to watch.  Really gets me amped up to watch the risk reward at this hole over the weekend.  

[TylorJudd]

Sung Gae Im for the Win!!!!

[GolfSpy TCB]

2 minutes ago, TylorJudd said:

Sung Gae Im for the Win!!!!

That is a good pick TJ!!!  One of my favorite swings in golf. 

[TylorJudd]

16 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

That is a good pick TJ!!!  One of my favorite swings in golf. 

That boy is trending up, very great golfer

[GolfSpy_KFT]

21 minutes ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

That was a GREAT package.  Really enjoyable to watch.  Really gets me amped up to watch the risk reward at this hole over the weekend.  

Re-watching Homa escape that bad lie en route to the 2021 victory gave me chills. Unbelievable what these guys can do! 

[Nick_Keller12]

I really hope Tiger plays well this week. I feel like despite his greatness, he has an underdog feeling going into this tournament. 
 

With that said, I would love to see Max Homa or Fowler walk away with the W this weekend. 

[Jim Shaw]

2 minutes ago, Nick_Keller12 said:

I really hope Tiger plays well this week. I feel like despite his greatness, he has an underdog feeling going into this tournament. 
 

With that said, I would love to see Max Homa or Fowler walk away with the W this weekend. 

i am thinking how much fun it would be if Tiger was in the hunt going into the weekend, he might break the internet...

[Nick_Keller12]

4 minutes ago, Jim Shaw said:

i am thinking how much fun it would be if Tiger was in the hunt going into the weekend, he might break the internet...

I completely agree with you! It could definitely be a big week for golf with the Netflix series and Tiger in contention this weekend. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

An interesting question was posed on the ESPN+ broadcast of the Genesis earlier...

I am paraphrasing... but...

At the top of their current game... who is the best golfer... who can't be beat?    The commentators had a short discussion - one choosing Rahm and the other Rory.  Can't disagree with either choice... but...

What are your thoughts forum?

[GolfSpy_APH]

1 minute ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

An interesting question was posed on the ESPN+ broadcast of the Genesis earlier...

I am paraphrasing... but...

At the top of their current game... who is the best golfer... who can't be beat?    The commentators had a short discussion - one choosing Rahm and the other Rory.  Can't disagree with either choice... but...

What are your thoughts forum?

JT is another... or you know world number 1 Scottie!

[GaDawg]

I just turned the coverage on 30 minutes ago and am already sick to my stomach. Tiger this, Tiger that, blah, blah, blah. None of it is even worth typing. I would like to just see other golfers that are playing, but that's not going to happen.