Best bets for PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational

Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 years ago

Jon Rahm, of Spain, hits from the second tee on the South Course during the final round of the ... — Jon Rahm, of Spain, hits from the second tee on the South Course during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Jon Rahm of Spain hits from the 12th tee of the North Course during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines, Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Jon Rahm on the 5th hole during the final round of a PGA golf tournament on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Patrick Cantlay follows his approach shot up to the sixth green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Tony Finau hits from the second tee on the South Course during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Twelve of the top 15 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will tee off Thursday in a loaded field at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is the +550 favorite at the Westgate sportsbook, and world No. 2 Jon Rahm is the 12-1 second choice.

Handicapper Wes Reynolds, co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, is backing Rahm as one of his best bets.

“He has done nothing wrong lately except not getting into the winner’s circle,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1). “His tie for 13th in Phoenix broke a four-event streak of finishing seventh or better.

“The fairways are difficult to hit here, so power can prove an advantage. Riviera is arguably the toughest course on the PGA Tour to make putts under 5 feet, and Rahm is the second-best on the tour from that distance.”

Here are the rest of Reynolds’ best bets (with comments on each):

Patrick Cantlay, 18-1

“In his last two events, Cantlay has (placed) second at the American Express and tied for third at Pebble Beach. He has logged a lot of rounds at Riviera dating back to both his amateur and collegiate career (UCLA).

“Riviera is arguably the most difficult course to hit both fairways and greens, so the short game has to be on point, and Cantlay’s has been of late.”

Tony Finau, 29-1

“Finau comes in with recent form of (second-second-fourth). He continues his streak without a win, but he has played well here in the past with a runner-up in 2018.”

Marc Leishman, 75-1

“Leishman has finished in the top five in two of his last five visits to Riviera. He finished fourth at the Sony and 18th two weeks ago defending his title at Torrey Pines, which has been an indicator of success at Riviera over the years.

“Aussies are used to playing on courses with kikuyu grass, and they have had success here in recent years with Adam Scott and Aaron Baddeley both earning titles at Riviera.”

Cameron Smith, 100-1

“Riviera has had plenty of correlations with Augusta National in terms of winners on both courses (Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Mike Weir). While not a winner, Smith did tie for second last fall at the Masters. He also has a sixth here back in 2018.”

Jason Kokrak, 110-1

“Kokrak was the runner-up here in 2016 and has added two subsequent top 25s at Riviera.”

J.T. Poston, 150-1

“Poston enters with two solid finishes of a tie for 18th at Torrey Pines and a tie for 11th at Phoenix.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.