It wasn’t my best work at the Phoenix Open, I must say. It was all well and good being gripped by Luke Clanton’s brave effort to make the cut, but it was no good show for my betting column.
Scottie Scheffler inexplicably blew up on the back nine on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale, Sahith Theegala continues to concern his fans with his lack of form and the same could be said for Matt Fitzpatrick who missed the cut.
A new week presents new opportunities, though. The Genesis Invitational finds itself at Torrey Pines in 2025, as the fires that tragically ripped through Los Angeles made it impossible to use the regular venue that is Riviera Country Club.
Scheffler will be back for more, as will all of the top names at this elevated purse event including Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama and many more of the PGA Tour’s stars.
Here is who I am backing this week in my Genesis Invitational best bets column, which is being held at Torrey Pines which has already hosted this season’s Farmers Insurance Open and has been a regularly used venue on the PGA Tour.
Genesis Invitational Best Bets
Venue: South Course, Torrey Pines, California, United States
Date: February 13-16, 2024
Course stats: Par 72, 7,765 yards
Defending champion: Hideki Matsuyama (-17)
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Rory McIlroy @ 12/1
I am not often onside with Rory McIlroy, especially at majors. But he is meticulously picking his schedule this year, and he made a superb start by winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That was his only start so far on the PGA Tour, but a great one.
He last played competitively on the South Course at Torrey Pines in 2021. He came 16th at the Farmers Insurance Open and seventh at the US Open. His other two career appearances at the Farmers Insurance Open were third-place and fifth-place finishes.
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So he has form at the golf course, and his newfound schedule of rest and recuperation has earned him form in general. He also came tied for fourth at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which he often uses as a sun-filled pipe cleaner for the season ahead.
Rory’s off-the-tee game and putting were statistically his strongest at Pebble Beach, and this will please his fans who no longer want to see him dropping silly shots when under pressure and missing silly putts. If his putting can hold up again at Torrey Pines, he should justify his favouritism here.
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Tony Finau @ 45/1
He might have missed the cut at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open, but this was an anomaly in Tony Finau‘s record at the golf course. Since 2015, Finau has finished outside of the top 25 once at Torrey Pines and has finished in the top six on five occasions. He has knocked on the door at this event for some time.
Finau hasn’t made the best start to his 2025 season. He has missed two cuts in four events, but he came tied for 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which was a sign of encouragement. Where he missed the cut at the Amex and the Farmers Insurance, his putting was statistically woeful, but everything else was sound.
Between the Amex and Pebble Beach, there was a four-stroke differential in his putting. This is obviously key and he was 156th in strokes gained in putting last year. But, he was 10th in overall strokes gained and he was ranked second in approaching the green too.
He is a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, so Finau garners a lot of respect in the market and also at a golf course where he has consistently performed well.
Will Zalatoris @ 50/1
Will Zalatoris has had an OK start to the 2025 season. His highlight so far is a tied-for-12th at the Amex. There have been parts of Zalatoris’ game which have been superb so far, specifically his greens in regulation percentage and driving accuracy.
These are features that will help around Torrey Pines South and he has utilised these traits to full effect before. He lost in a playoff to Luke List at the Farmers Insurance in 2022, he came tied for seventh at the 2021 renewal and tied for 13th in 2024.
At the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Sentry, Zalatoris gained over half a stroke in putting and he was statistically solid across the board at the Amex. It’s difficult to weed out who is playing well so early in the season, but Zalatoris certainly represents value.
He came second at last year’s Genesis, albeit at a different golf course, tied for fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and tied for ninth at the Masters. It might be that Zalatoris finds form most at the stage of the season.
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Justin Rose @ 125/1
Justin Rose is horrifically overpriced here. He has been playing in events at Torrey Pines since 2005. He is a previous winner of the Farmers Insurance and he has three other top-10 finishes to his name as well.
His recent tied-for-third at Pebble Beach was very impressive. Statistically, he showed vast improvement across the board that week compared to his first stab at Torrey this year. We can forgive that as it was his first start of the PGA Tour season.
I imagine his age has something to do with his price, but this 44-year-old Englishman is nowhere near done yet, especially in a Ryder Cup year. His short game has particularly been good so far, which will help in the gnarly rough around the South Course greens.
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Rose is still a big game player as he showed at the PGA Championship and The Open last year where he came tied for sixth and tied for second. I can’t help but think he will be even more determined to perform in big events like this as he approaches the twilight of his career.
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What do you make of our Genesis Invitational best bets? Which players would you add to our Genesis Invitational best bets? Tell us on X!
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