The Genesis Invitational 2025 FRL Tips: Back Sepp to shoot low on Thursday

The relocated Genesis Invitational begins on Thursday at Torrey Pines South and Jamie Worsley has already given us his outright preview. He's also taken a look at who can hit the front on day one amidst some adverse weather conditions in San Diego.

Here are Jamie's four Genesis Invitational 2025 FRL Tips.

Tomorrow’s opening round is forecast to be a wet one, with rain predicted to fall throughout the day. Accompanied by rising winds – that could gust at highs of 28mph in the afternoon – it looks set to be a real slog.

That being said, our limited 72-man field will all begin within a couple of hours of each other, which means there should be no concern about any draw bias developing. Enabling us to pick freely across all tee times to find our first-round leader this week.

1 pt Sepp Straka each-way (1/4 5 places) @ 40/1

First up is Austria’s Sepp Straka. He’s been in strong form at the beginning of this year and possessing several good rounds at Torrey Pines South, he can hit the front in tomorrow’s opening round.

Straka has played five times in 2025 and finished no worse than 30^th. He won a third PGA Tour title in The AmEx three starts ago and enters this week off the back of finishes of 7^th at Pebble Beach and 15^th in Phoenix.

His approach play has been especially strong, ranking 2^nd in this field across his last 20 rounds and encouragingly for the test that awaits at this mammoth, soft course, his long irons have looked excellent.

These finishes have all been aided by positive starts, as he’s opened with an under-par round in each. He was particularly impressive over the first 18 holes in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, firing a 7-under 65 at Spyglass Hill to sit 2^nd.

Straka has played at Torrey Pines on five occasions, recording two top 20s. His 7-under 65 in the fourth round of the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open was the joint-best score of that week at this course and with plenty of other under-par rounds to his name, we can be confident in his ability to perform here.

1 pt Sam Stevens each-way (1/4 5 places) @ 50/1

The strong-driving Sam Stevens handled the challenging fourth round conditions at Torrey Pines South better than anyone a few weeks ago. He can count on that experience to make a quick start to this event tomorrow.

Stevens hasn’t missed a cut at the start of this season and ranks 21^st in this field in strokes gained: total. His best finish unsurprisingly came here, as he finished 2^nd to Harris English in the Farmers Insurance Open and he also hit the top 20 the following week in our previous Signature Event, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The driver is the strongest club in his bag, with which he’s usually long and straight. That being said, he’s also adept with the putter – gaining strokes in two of his three starts on these greens – and he ranked among the top 20 in approaches over 200yds here in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Stevens hasn’t missed a cut in three starts in that event, finishing 13^th in 2023, 43^rd in 2024 and then recording that 2^nd-place finish this year. His 66 in the first round in 2023 was the joint-best score at the South Course that day and along with that closing 68 this year, we have clear evidence of his capacity to outscore anyone.

0.75 pts Justin Rose each-way (1/4 5 places) @ 60/1

Former Farmers Insurance Open winner, Justin Rose was a little rusty when missing the cut at Torrey Pines last month. Although, he was in much better ball-striking form on his next start at Pebble Beach and as one of the best first-round performers in this field historically, he’s an appealing price to top the leaderboard on day one.

Rose actually started well in the Farmers Insurance Open, shooting a 69 at the North Course but succumbed to an 80 at the South Course on day two. Where he hit the ball poorly and struggled on the greens.

He rectified that the following week at Pebble Beach, finishing 3^rd behind Rory McIlroy and gained strokes right through the bag. This was engineered by a strong start, as he fired a 7-under 65 to sit 2^nd after round one and looking more dialled in with his long irons, he should be more prepared to tackle the demands of Torrey Pines South.

Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open in 2019 and has recorded three further top-10 finishes in that event. His second-round 66 in 2019 is the standout of his most recent of many positive rounds at the course.

0.5 pts Jake Knapp each-way (1/4 5 places) @ 80/1

Big-hitting Jake Knapp got into this event after the withdrawal of Tiger Woods and will be desperate to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity. He has a good record here and with his long irons starting to fire, he holds plenty of appeal in this market.

Knapp had a relatively slow start to the year but has upgraded his level over his last three starts, where he’s done most of his best work in round one. This includes shooting a 65 to sit in 2^nd place after 18 holes at Pebble Beach, whilst a first-round 67 saw him into 11^th in Phoenix.

Those two performances have also been aided by some improved approach play. This has been particularly evident in the quality of his long irons, ranking 12^th from 175-200yds and 20^th from 200yds+ at this early point of the season. Along with his length and proven ability to putt these surfaces, he has the skillset to go low at Torrey Pines South.

Knapp missed the cut on debut in the Farmers Insurance Open when still an amateur in 2015. However, he finished 3^rd on his first start in the event as a pro in 2024, where he fired every round under par around this layout and again looking solid when 32^nd in that event last month, it is clearly a good fit for his modern, power-packed game.

Click the link for all the latest Golf Odds

Find Jamie's latest Golf Betting Tips here at Betfred Insights