The 2022 Waste Management Phoenix Open delivered theatrics aplenty throughout its four days in Arizona. Scottie Scheffler saved his best for last, providing a 13-under-par score across the final two days, which led to him facing Patrick Cantlay in a three-hole playoff on the 18th hole. After two rounds, Scheffler managed to drill his approach shot and sink a 26-foot birdie to best Cantlay and win the first event of his career. Other notable performers included Sahith Theegala, who produced a score of eight-under-par in the second round to climb into a T3 finish. His second finish was inside the top ten this season. In addition, Hideki Matsuyama earned his fourth top ten finish of the 2022 PGA Tour season, ranking him first in the FedExCup. However, the most exciting moment of the entire weekend came on Saturday, when Sam Ryder hit a hole-in-one on a par 3 at hole 16. The crowd erupted in a frenzy and threw beverages and hats onto the field in what felt like a Super Bowl celebration. The Desert provided plenty of heat to make viewers forget about the February chill.
The PGA Tour will head back to California for the fourth time in the past five weeks and make its home at the Riviera Country Club for The Genesis Invitational. It’s an iconic venue that has been attended for nearly 100 years. Tiger Woods made his professional debut at Riviera back in 1992, so it holds a special place in the hearts of many golf enthusiasts. The Genesis Invitational has quite a bit riding on it for the winner, who will receive over 500 FedExCup points and $2.1 million. This bounty has the Tour’s best players out in full force competing in the Pacific Palisades beginning on Thursday. The course is tougher to tame, which adds an extra layer of intrigue and difficulty when setting DFS lineups. Fortunately, I’m here to steer you in the right direction.
Here are a few of my favorite prospects to target in DFS lineups ahead of Thursday’s opening round at The Genesis Invitational.
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Previous Winners
- 2021 – Max Homa (-12)
- 2020 – Adam Scott (-11)
- 2019 – J.B. Holmes (-14)
- 2018 – Bubba Watson (-12)
- 2017 – Dustin Johnson (-17)
Course Overview
The Riviera Country Club is a par 71 that runs just over 7,300 yards, but it challenges the most skilled players with the various tiered fairways and greens. The bunkers are deeper than usual and flank most Poa annua greens. The remaining surface is Kikuyagrass, which creates an attractive look and feel for irons. In six years, no changes have been made to the course, but the difficulty is still tangible due to the tiered, bumpy fairways and greens. Three par 5s create the opportunity for players to improve their scorecards, while the four par 3s counter with difficult hole locations and narrow fairways.
This is the third year that the tournament has been designated as an invitational, limiting the field to 120 players. Those who have won or finished high on previous leaderboards did so with strong, long drives and iron shots. Several dog-leg fairways create limited views of certain landing spots on several fairways implemented in 2008, drawing inspiration from Tom Fazio and his design team. The rough is trimmed down to an inch and a half, but the greens are challenging enough to make the shortened rough a moot point. Players will need to control their putting, as the Poa annua greens run fast, measuring just short of 13 feet on the Stimpmeter. The weather in Southern California projects to be immaculate in the 70s with minimum to no precipitation so that the conditions will be ideal for one of the Tour’s most legendary and beautiful courses.
Relevant Betting Stats
- Driving Distance
- Driving Accuracy
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green
- Birdie Average
- Sand Save percentage
Recommended Plays: DraftKings
DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000
Bubba Watson ($8,500)
There isn’t any better value on the slate than Bubba Watson. He’s won three times at Riviera back in 2014, 2016, and 2018 and could become only the third player to win four times at The Genesis Invitational. In addition, the 43-year old American had tons of rest before playing his first event of the PGA Tour last weekend at the WM Phoenix Open, where he earned a T14 (-11) finish. Consistent success in the past, rest, and a highly discounted salary at $8,500 makes Watson a fantastic value and salary-saving option packaged in one. He has struggled in the past two seasons at Riviera, earning 75th and 72nd finishes, which is the main reason why Watson is available to roster at such a steep discount. So plug him into lineups with confidence and preserve your salary for other blue-chip prospects.
Hideki Matsuyama ($9,300)
Hideki Matsuyama currently occupies first place in the FedExCup rankings, but his talent is still undervalued. The 29-year old Japanese native has two wins under his belt this season, and four top-ten finishes, including a T8 (-13) finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open a few days ago. Matsuyama has yet to miss a cut in eight events this season and has also been successful at Riviera in past years, earning a T5 finish in 2020 and a T9 finish in 2019. Perhaps it’s due to Matsuyama missing the cut at Riviera in 2021, but his level of elite play has been sustained in five consecutive events, never falling below T30. Matsuyama is another fantastic value and someone who has serious potential to contend for first place, as he has the seventh-highest odds alongside big-time players like Cam Smith, Viktor Hovland, and Will Zalatoris. Add Matsuyama into lineups if you want a player that can deliver a high-floor and a high-ceiling at a good value.
Dustin Johnson ($10,200)
37-year old American Dustin Johnson has only competed in two events this season, including a T45 finish way back in October at the CJ Cup @ Summit. His recent event at the Farmers Insurance Open yielded a T25 finish at nine-under-par, an encouraging sign. Johnson has three top-ten finishes at Riviera across the last three seasons and has a whopping ten top-ten finishes overall. He’s equipped with a powerful driver, one of the best ways to succeed at The Genesis Invitational and the various sand bunkers, undulations, trees, and out-of-bounds markers that restrict tee shots and approach shots alike. He has had three weeks to rest leading up to Thursday’s first round at Riviera, so take advantage and grab the player with arguably the most sustained success at this course. He’s the fifth-highest player to roster on DraftKings, but his resumè speaks for itself. Add Johnson and don’t look back.
Recommended Plays: FanDuel
FanDuel maximum salary is set at $60,000
Rory McIlroy ($11,300)
The most famous Irishman on the PGA Tour will return to the circuit on Thursday and join the other 119 players competing at The Genesis Invitational. 32-year old Rory McIlroy earned his 20th career win in his last event at The CJ Cup @ Summit in October 2021. He has had massive success at Riviera in past years, earning a T5 finish in 2020, a T4 finish in 2019, and a T20 finish back in 2018. McIlroy did miss the cut last season, but he is well-rested and dominated in his last PGA Tour event. He’s yet another player with a phenomenal driver who can bypass the numerous obstacles laid out at Riviera this weekend. McIlroy finished 14th in the FedExCup last year, so expect another strong performance in his first action on Tour in four months. Pay up to acquire the talented Irishman in as many lineups as possible, as he is worthy of being labeled a blue-chip prospect.
Max Homa ($9,800)
The defending champion at Riviera is available to roster at under $10,000 on FanDuel. 31-year old American Max Homa is currently ranked tenth in the FedExCup and 35th in the Official World Golf Rankings, with several impressive finishes this season, including a T14 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open last weekend. Homa has three finishes T15 or better in three of his previous four events and earned his lone win of the 2021 season at The Genesis Invitational. He has additional T5 and T37 finishes dating back to 2020 and 2019, respectively. Homa is a native of the area and always plays well at Riviera. Factor in his recent stretch of success, and Homa becomes a high-upside prospect that can be acquired at a substantial discount.
Will Zalatoris ($10,600)
One of the game’s youngest rising stars, 25-year old American Will Zalatoris, has been absolutely on fire in his last two events. Zalatoris has finished T6 and second-place outright at The American Express and Farmers Insurance Open. The thin-limbed Zalatoris can crush the driver despite his small stature, averaging 311.4 yards per attempt this season. This ranks 11th on Tour and puts him in a great spot to succeed and replicate the T15 finish that he generated in his debut at Riviera in 2021. Zalatoris had an awful four-over-par score during the third round last year. Still, they managed to climb into a T15 finish, so assuming he avoids egregious errors in his second appearance, the 25-year old should be able to challenge and earn his first win of the 2022 PGA Tour season. He’s worth every penny of the $10,600 salary and is a machine when it comes to hitting greens in regulation, ranking 11th at a 76 percent conversion rate. Zalatoris is a certified stud and should be prioritized in as many lineups as possible at Riviera this weekend.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
