The PGA TOUR’s West Coast swing makes its final stop at the historic Riviera Country Club to play the 2022 Genesis Invitational. This event is consistently one of the best tournaments of the year at one of the most iconic golf courses in the world.
Riviera Country Club is a par 71 measuring 7,322 yards. The fairways and rough consist of Kikuya grass, and the greens are Poa annua.
The Genesis Invitational field will consist of 121 players and is absolutely stacked at the top and very deep. All of the top ten in the official world golf rankings are teeing it up at Riviera this week, and it is looking like it will be the strongest field in the history of the event.
For GPP contests on DraftKings, I will be breaking down the key stats (past 24 rounds) and selecting golfers from different price tiers to provide flexibility for a DFS lineup.
For large-field tournaments, you can utilize our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
Don’t forget about the other tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, such as the Trends tool and PGA Correlation Dashboard.
This analysis may reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots on average it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation. Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.
Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking
I rarely use Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking in these models, but this week I find it to be especially important. Riviera requires golfers to play well in all facets of their game.
Ball striking includes both off the tee and approach, as one or the other will not be enough this week. Golfers will need to excel with the driver and irons this week if they want to contend.
- High-end target: Jon Rahm – $11,300 (1st SG:BS)
- Mid-range target: Paul Casey – $7,600 (11th SG: BS)
- Value target: Corey Conners – $7,300 (14th SG: BS)
Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
Riviera is not an overly long golf course. Distance off the tee is not absolutely essential, but it is a definite asset. A good combination of distance and accuracy should be the recipe this week, with distance still being a bit more important.
- High-end target: Jon Rahm – $11,300 (1st SG: OTT)
- Mid-range target: Sergio Garcia – $7,800 (6th SG: OTT)
- Value target: Cameron Young – $6,700 (4th SG: OTT)
Strokes Gained: Putting (Poa and Fast)
Riviera’s fast and firm greens are notoriously difficult. Putts from 10 feet and in are far from a guarantee, and this is an area we will see many golfers struggle this week.
- High-end target: Jon Rahm – $11,300 (12th Strokes Gained: Putting Poa and Fast)
- Mid-range target: Adam Scott – $8,200 (6th Strokes Gained: Putting Poa and Fast)
- Value target: Wyndham Clark – $6,400 (3rd Strokes Gained: Putting Poa and Fast)
3-Putt Avoidance
Poa can get really bumpy late in the day, making tough par saves late in the tournament even more difficult. Average 3-putts per round are much higher at Riviera than TOUR average.
- High-end target: Jon Rahm – $11,300 (6th 3-Putt Avoidance)
- Mid-range target: Marc Leishman – $7,900 (18th 3-Putt Avoidance)
- Value target: Beau Hossler – $6,400 (3rd 3-Putt Avoidance)
Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green
This event will be far from a birdie fest. As previously mentioned, Riviera is a true all-around test. With fairways relatively difficult to hit, playing out of the rough will create a lot of missed greens. Golfers will need to make some tricky up and downs to get away with par at Riviera.
- High-end target: Rory McIlroy – $9,700 (18th SG: ARG)
- Mid-range target: Russell Henley – $7,900 (9th SG:ARG)
- Value target: Matt Kuchar – $6,800 (3rd SG: ARG)
