Ian Wilkerson
The Los Angeles wildfires have meant this week’s Genesis Invitational will not be played at Riviera Country Club, which has hosted the prestigious event since 1999. Instead, the PGA Tour’s finest will face the Torrey Pines South Course that was the venue for last month’s Farmers Insurance Open. However, as this is the 3rd Signature Event of the year, there will be a different feel to proceedings. The quality of the field will be greatly enhanced with 72 players locking horns this time rather than the full field that tee’d up 3 weeks ago. We should also witness the return of Tiger Woods, who has won 8 times at the California venue, but surely only the sentimentalists will be looking to back at the 15-time Major winner at 250-1.
As is customary these days in such tournaments, world number one Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy dominate the betting market. However, Scheffler looks to have little value after his underwhelming 25th-placed finish at last week’s Phoenix Open. But McIlroy looks a stronger candidate, having won the last Signature Event at Pebble Beach and been 5th and 3rd at the Farmers in 2019 and 2020. Let’s get into my expert predictions for the Genesis Invitational, while you can also find out our golf picks for EVERY PGA Tour event this year.
If you need a new sportsbook, find out the best golf betting sites available, where you can earn THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS in bonus bets with our handy promo codes!
Genesis Invitational golf picks and predictions
Genesis Invitational best bet: Collin Morikawa (+1500)
Odds available at Bet365 at time of publishing.
Preference is for this week’s Genesis Invitational is for the man who is currently 3rd favorite in the betting, Collin Morikawa. The 2-time Major winner has just the sort of tip-top approach play who can shine on the monster South Course and he heads to Torrey Pines in decent form having been the best 72-hole performer at September’s Tour Championship.
Morikawa started 2025 by finishing 2nd behind Hideki Matsuyama at The Sentry and he was 17th on his subsequent effort at Pebble Beach. He missed the cut at last year’s Farmers but was 3rd when Max Homa won in 2023 and 4th at the 2021 US Open, when he clawed his way back from an opening 75. Morikawa heads the PGA Tour strokes-gained: tee-to-green this year and that quality could come to the fore.
You can bet on our Collin Morikawa best bet with Bet365, where you’ll find the best odds available. And if you’re new to Bet365, even better! Simply click here to sign up now and you’ll receive $150 in bonus bets INSTANTLY when you create an account and make a first bet of just $5.
Genesis Invitational prediction: Taylor Pendrith (+4000)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Ludvig Aberg may be best watched after withdrawing at Pebble Beach with flu, while Sungjae Im has done little since finishing 4th at the Farmers. However, one player making waves is Taylor Pendrith. The Canadian hopeful won last May’s CJ Cup and he has finished in the top 25 at 10 of his last 11 tournaments. That record includes 13th at The Sentry and 9th at Pebble Beach in Signature Events, and he was ranked 7th off the tee and from tee-to-green when finishing 7th at the Farmers as a second-round 75 put paid to his chances. He was 9th the previous year at Torrey Pines, so could again make his presence felt among top-grade company and a first success of 2025 may not be far away.
Genesis Invitational pick: Keegan Bradley (+6500)
Odds available at Bet365 at time of publishing.
The burden of Ryder Cup captaincy is doing little to inhibit Keegan Bradley’s form and we could witness another strong performance from the former US PGA champion, who won the BMW Championship, the penultimate event of last year’s FedEx Cup playoffs. Bradley was 65th last time out at Pebble Beach, but that effort did include 2 rounds of 69 so it was not disastrous, and it followed 4 successive top-15 finishes, including one at Torrey Pines. He was also 2nd in 2023 and has 2 other top-5 finishes at the venue.
Genesis Invitational longshot pick: Sam Stevens (+8000)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook and Bet365 at time of publishing.
It is also worth taking a chance that Sam Stevens can make the step up, having finished a shot behind winner Harris English at the Farmers 3 weeks ago, when his worst round came on the North Course which will not be used this week. His closing 68 was the best Sunday round in the field and he also shot an opening 66 when he was 13th 2 years ago. Stevens was 17th at Pebble Beach and although he was 44th at Phoenix last week, he did have 2 rounds of 67 at TPC Southwind. He was the best tee-to-green performer at the Farmers and 3rd in the stroke-gained-on-approach, so it would not be a huge shock if he built on some encouraging performances.
Get the best odds on our Sam Stevens longshot pick with FanDuel Sportsbook, where new users can click here to sign up and receive $150 in bonus bets immediately if their first $5 bet is a winner!
