The Genesis Invitational 2025 Tips: 22/1 Hideki to defend California crown?

The PGA Tour now heads back to California for the final event of the West Coast Swing: the Genesis Invitational. An event that has been relocated from its usual home of Riviera Country Club to Torrey Pines’ South Course for this year’s renewal, due to the devastating wildfires that have ravaged the area around Riviera.

As always, here are our golf tipster Jamie Worsley's The Genesis Invitational 2025 tips, as well as his usual comprehensive preview featuring four players priced from 14/1 all the way out to 90/1.

The Genesis Invitational 2025 Odds

As a former #5 amateur who has struggled to transfer that potential into victories in the pro ranks, Thomas Detry has become a much-maligned player on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour since turning pro in 2016.

However, he put any question of possessing the bottle to win at this level to bed at TPC Scottsdale in Sunday’s final round of the Phoenix Open, as he converted his five-shot overnight lead to rout a strong field by an incredible seven strokes.

It was a long overdue win for the highly-talented Belgian, and it will be interesting to see if he can use it as a springboard to much bigger and better things going forward.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Genesis Invitational is the most recent incarnation of the Los Angeles Open, which will enjoy its 100-year anniversary in 2026, having first been staged in 1926. It is our third Signature Event of the season, following The Sentry and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Riviera Country Club has been the most frequent home of the event, hosting on 60 occasions; exclusively so since 1999.

Macdonald Smith (1928, 1929, 1932, 1934) and Lloyd Mangrum (1949, 1951, 1953, 1956) are the most successful players in the tournament’s history with four wins apiece. They are closely followed by Ben Hogan (1942, 1947, 1948), Arnold Palmer (1963, 1966, 1967) and Bubba Watson (2014, 2016, 2018); each with three victories.

Sam Snead (1945, 1950), Tom Watson (1980, 1982), Fred Couples (1990, 1992) and Phil Mickelson (2008, 2009) are among a large group of players to have won the event twice.

Last five winners:

• 2024 – Winner: Hideki Matsuyama (-17)
• Runners-up: Luke List, Will Zalatoris (-14)

• 2023 – Winner: Jon Rahm (-17)
• Runner-up: Max Homa (-15)

• 2022 – Winner: Joaquin Niemann (-19)
• Runners-up: Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young (-17)

• 2021 – Winner: Max Homa (-12, playoff)
• Runner-up: Tony Finau (-12)

• 2020 – Winner: Adam Scott (-11)
• Runners-up: Scott Brown, Sung Kang, Matt Kuchar (-9)

Hideki Matsuyama produced an incredible display in the final round to win the event last year. Entering that last day in 7^th, six off the lead held by Patrick Cantlay, he shot a superb 9-under 62 (the best round of the day by three) to run out a comfortable three-stroke winner.

The Japanese star returns to defend the title at Torrey Pines this week.

THE COURSE

Originally designed by William Bell in 1957, Torrey Pines has been the home of the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA Tour since 1968. However, whereas that event takes place across the North and South courses at the venue, this week’s event will be staged solely at the more imposing South Course, which is a former host of two US Opens – which saw Tiger Woods win in 2008 and Jon Rahm in 2021.

The course was renovated by Rees Jones in 2001, who recontoured the greens, repositioned fairway bunkers to add more strategy and added 500yds in length. Jones then returned in 2019 to complete further adjustments with that 2021 US Open in mind.

This mammoth layout plays as a par 72 and measures 7765yds. It possesses 4x par 3s (177-227 yards), 10x par 4s (389-505 yards), 4x par 5s (564-621 yards). Birdie chances are few and far between here and it’s this course that contributes most to the Farmers Insurance Open having an average winning score of -12.8 across its last 10 renewals.

Built on cliff tops overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Torrey Pines’ South Course is an open and largely exposed setup. The ground often slopes back towards the ocean and there are regular, predominantly gentle changes in elevation. This becomes more prevalent on the par 3s, with all playing downhill.

The fairways are narrow, ranking as some of the most difficult to find on the PGA Tour. An abundance of strategically placed bunkers dominate the landing areas and thick kikuyu-based rough offers added protection to an already demanding driving test.

The small and firm poa annua greens are reasonably sloped and are often positioned at an angle to the fairway, which makes them tough to find. The bumpy nature of poa as the round develops helps these surfaces rank 5^th on tour in putting difficulty, and with more of those bunkers and thick rough surrounding the putting surfaces, scrambling is also a challenge.

Water comes into play on just one hole – the 570-yard par 5 18^th. Here, players must navigate a narrow fairway that is bombarded with bunkers, before then deciding whether to go for the heavily sloped green in two. Said green is flanked by two large bunkers left and right, and a run-off short, that leads into a water hazard that occupies the front-left portion of the green.

It’s an exciting closing hole and typically ensures that there is drama until the very last putt is holed on Sunday.

KEY STATS

• SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance

Torrey Pines and its major championship-standard examination requires quality in all areas. That being said, it’s been a haven for quality drivers of the ball and with an already long course set to play even longer due to the likely wet conditions, I expect those with controlled power off-the-tee to thrive.

That may not have been the case when looking at the most recent renewal of the Farmers Insurance Open a few weeks ago, as winner, Harris English largely struggled with the driver. However, runner-up, Sam Stevens ranked 4^th off-the-tee and was inside the top 15 in driving distance and driving accuracy, whilst five of the top 8 in total ranked inside the top 25 in driving distance.

The 2024 edition of that event saw 2^nd-place finisher Nicolai Hojgaard rank 2^nd OTT and 7^th in driving distance. Of the top 12 last year, nine ranked inside the top 25 in driving distance and seven were top 25 OTT.

Big-hitting Luke List won at Torrey Pines in 2022 and ranked top 25 OTT, whilst Will Zalatoris finished 2^nd there, ranking 8^th both in driving distance and OTT. Meanwhile, Jon Rahm finished 3^rd and was 2^nd OTT and 6^th in driving distance; a performance similar to when he won the 2021 US Open at the course, as he ranked 5^th OTT and 8^th in driving distance.

Seven of the top nine ranked inside the top 25 in driving distance in 2021; Marc Leishman led home a leaderboard that included strong drivers such as Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy in 2020; whilst in 2019, each of the top seven ranked inside the top 25 OTT, and six were top 25 in driving distance.

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation/Proximity from 175yds+

Top-quality iron play is equally important, and the long irons will be even more key this year, with those softer conditions resulting in less roll-out in the fairways and longer approaches into the greens.

Harris English was on fire with his approach play here in January. Runner-up, Sam Stevens ranked 3^rd and 3^rd-place finisher, Andrew Novak ranked 7^th.

2024 champion, Matthieu Pavon ranked 3^rd in approach and 7^th in greens-in-regulation, with eight of the top 12 ranking top 20 for GIR.

Max Homa was superb with his irons in 2023, ranking 1^st in approach and 4^th in GIR. In behind him, we also had 3^rd-place finisher, Collin Morikawa ranking 3^rd in approach and 5^th in GIR; whilst all of the top six ranked at least 12^th in approach.

Luke List ranked 4^th in approach and 7^th in GIR in 2022. He beat Will Zalatoris into 2^nd, who ranked 1^st in approach and 5^th in GIR.

Five of the top eight ranked inside the top six in approach in 2020 and it was a similar story in 2019, with all of the top four ranking 6^th or better in approach.

• SG: Putting (poa annua)

Handling these tricky poa surfaces has been a necessity in getting this event over the line in recent years, with each of the last five winners ranking inside the top 10 on the greens for the week.

That includes Harris English ranking 3^rd earlier this year and Marc Leishman leading the field with the putter in 2020.

• Par 5 Scoring

Finally, on a course where clear scoring opportunities are scarce, taking advantage of these four par 5s has often been a key to success at Torrey Pines.

CORRELATING EVENTS (COURSES)

Genesis Invitational (Riviera Country Club)

Although they may look and feel different, there are many similarities between this week’s stand-in host, Torrey Pines and the regular Genesis Invitational host, Riviera Country Club.

Both venues are based in California and have challenging poa annua greens, whilst punishing kikuyu rough forms a primary defence. In addition, they are each highly demanding off-the-tee and require players to be on form with their long irons – with approaches between 175-200 very common.

Notable correlating form:

Max Homa:

Torrey Pines (1^st) / Riviera (1^st, 2^nd)

Luke List:

Torrey Pines (1^st) / Riviera (2^nd)

Scott Stallings:

Torrey Pines (1^st, 2^nd) / Riviera (4^th)

Marc Leishman:

Torrey Pines (1^st, 2^nd, 2^nd) / Riviera (4^th, 5^th)

Charles Howell III:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 2^nd, 2^nd) / Riviera (1^st)

J.B. Holmes:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 4^th) / Riviera (1^st)

Tony Finau:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 4^th) / Riviera (2^nd, 2^nd)

Will Zalatoris:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Riviera (2^nd, 4^th)

Keegan Bradley:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 4^th, 5^th) / Riviera (2^nd, 4^th)

Viktor Hovland:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Riviera (4^th, 5^th)

Jimmy Walker:

Torrey Pines (4^th, 4^th) / Riviera (4^th, 4^th)

Joel Dahmen:

Torrey Pines (9^th, 9^th) / Riviera (5^th)

Memorial Tournament (Muirfield Village)

Muirfield Village is another major championship-like test that should give us some clues this week. It’s reasonably long, with small, firm greens and troublesome rough, and much like I’m expecting this week, approaches from 175yds+ are often the most important.

Notable correlating form:

Scott Stallings:

Torrey Pines (1^st, 2^nd) / Memorial (4^th)

Marc Leishman:

Torrey Pines (1^st, 2^nd, 2^nd) / Memorial (5^th, 5^th)

Max Homa:

Torrey Pines (1^st) / Memorial (5^th, 6^th)

Viktor Hovland:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Memorial (1^st, 3^rd)

Ryan Palmer:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 2^nd) / Memorial (2^nd)

Kyle Stanley:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Memorial (2^nd, 3^rd)

Will Zalatoris:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Memorial (5^th)

Kevin Streelman:

Torrey Pines (3^rd) / Memorial (4^th)

Sahith Theegala:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Memorial (5^th)

Procore Championship (Silverado Resort – North Course)

Silverado’s North Course, host of the Procore Championship, is a much shorter and densely tree-lined venue than Torrey Pines South. However, with its narrow fairways and small poa annua greens, many players have been able to carry form across these two venues.

Notable correlating form:

Max Homa:

Torrey Pines (1^st) / Procore (1^st, 1^st)

Brandt Snedeker:

Torrey Pines (1^st, 1^st) / Procore (2^nd)

Marc Leishman:

Torrey Pines (1^st, 2^nd, 2^nd) / Procore (3^rd, 4^th)

Luke List:

Torrey Pines (1^st) / Procore (4^th)

Charles Howell III:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 2^nd, 2^nd) / Procore (4^th)

Tony Finau:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 4^th) / Procore (2^nd)

Kevin Streelman:

Torrey Pines (3^rd) / Procore (3^rd)

Talor Gooch:

Torrey Pines (3^rd) / Procore (4^th)

Sahith Theegala:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Procore (1^st)

Sungjae Im:

Torrey Pines (4^th, 4^th) / Procore (4^th)

Sam Ryder:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Procore (4^th)

Patrick Rodgers:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Procore (6^th, 6^th)

Kristoffer Ventura:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Procore (7^th)

Wells Fargo Championship (Quail Hollow Club)

Quail Hollow is another lengthy layout that provides players with a test akin to a major championship. Over 50% of approaches there come from over 175yds and ranking similarly to Torrey Pines in most aspects, it’s an obvious comp this week.

Notable correlating form:

Harris English:

Torrey Pines (1^st,2^nd) / Wells Fargo (3^rd)

Max Homa:

Torrey Pines (1^st) / Wells Fargo (1^st)

Luke List:

Torrey Pines (1^st) / Wells Fargo (6^th, 9^th)

J.B. Holmes:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 4^th) / Wells Fargo (1^st)

Viktor Hovland:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Wells Fargo (3^rd)

Patrick Rodgers:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Wells Fargo (2^nd)

Sungjae Im:

Torrey Pines (4^th, 4^th) / Wells Fargo (4^th, 8^th)

D.A. Points:

Torrey Pines (5^th, 8^th, 9^th) / Wells Fargo (2^nd)

Joel Dahmen:

Torrey Pines (9^th, 9^th) / Wells Fargo (2^nd)

Texas Open (TPC San Antonio)

TPC San Antonio is one of the toughest driving tests on the PGA Tour and as a venue that also suits those long iron stripers, any form there is a positive for Torrey Pines.

Notable correlating form:

Brandt Snedeker:

Torrey Pines (1^st, 1^st) / Texas (4^th, 6^th)

Sam Stevens:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Texas (2^nd)

Tony Finau:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 4^th) / Texas (3^rd)

Charles Howell III:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 2^nd, 2^nd) / Texas (4^th)

Ryan Palmer:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 2^nd) / Texas (4^th, 6^th, 6^th)

Cameron Tringale:

Torrey Pines (3^rd, 4^th) / Texas (5^th, 8^th, 9^th)

Jimmy Walker:

Torrey Pines (4^th, 4^th) / Texas (1^st, 3^rd, 4^th)

Sam Ryder:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Texas (3^rd)

Patrick Rodgers:

Torrey Pines (4^th) / Texas (5^th)

John Huh:

Torrey Pines (6^th, 8^th) / Texas (2^nd)

Beau Hossler:

Torrey Pines (6^th, 9^th) / Texas (4^th)

Houston Open (Memorial Park Golf Course)

Memorial Park is a fairly open course that usually provides a tough test. It has comparable averages to Torrey Pines in many areas and possessing a high percentage of approaches from 200yds+, those same lengthy ball-striking types have enjoyed plenty of success here.

Notable correlating form:

Tony Finau:

Torrey Pines (2^nd, 4^th) / Houston (1^st, 2^nd)

Alex Noren:

Torrey Pines (2^nd) / Houston (4^th)

Stephan Jaeger:

Torrey Pines (3^rd) / Houston (1^st)

Talor Gooch:

Torrey Pines (3^rd) / Houston (4^th)

Aaron Rai:

Torrey Pines (6^th) / Houston (7^th, 7^th)

Joel Dahmen:

Torrey Pines (9^th, 9^th) / Houston (5^th)

THE FIELD

This week’s limited 72-man field consists of seven of the top 10 and 22 of the top 25 players in the world, with Xander Schauffele the only eligible player missing due to a rib injury.

Scottie Scheffler of course sits atop those world rankings; joined by the winner of our previous Signature Event at Pebble Beach, Rory McIlroy and defending Genesis Invitational winner, Hideki Matsuyama.

Matsuyama is one of just three former winners in attendance, alongside Max Homa (2021) and Adam Scott (2020, 2005).

Tiger Woods is the tournament host and has a special exemption into the event, making his first start since last year’s Open Championship.

Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard makes both his Genesis Invitational and Torrey Pines debut this week; Daniel Berger, Michael Kim, Andrew Novak, J.J. Spaun and Sam Stevens get in through the Aon Swing 5; and Australia’s Danny List receives this year’s Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, which is awarded to a player from a minority background, to display the advance of diversity within the sport.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Scottie Scheffler 7/2, Rory McIlroy 7/1, Collin Morikawa 14/1, Hideki Matsuyama 22/1, Justin Thomas 22/1, Ludvig Aberg 25/1

Rory McIlroy continued the theme of high-class players winning these Signature Events at Pebble Beach last time and it’s at the top of the betting where we should pay most attention again this week.

We were right to oppose Scheffler in Phoenix and for all the world #1 could easily bounce back here, he’s not worth chancing at the price, considering how poor his iron play was over the weekend.

Rory made some appeal at a course at which he’s performed strongly before, though at double the price of him is Collin Morikawa, who has gone well here both in tough US Open conditions and in the Farmers Insurance Open, and he goes in as the headline selection this week.

3 pts Collin Morikawa each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 14/1

We’ve only seen Morikawa twice so far this season, but he’s shown promise each time, finishing 2^nd in The Sentry and then 17^th at Pebble Beach two weeks ago.

He’s hit the ball strongly across those starts, ranking top 10 in ball-striking across both events. He was a touch more impressive in Hawaii, as he led the field in greens-in-regulation, and also ranked 3^rd in approach and 7^th off-the-tee.

The quality of his iron play in particular has been pleasing to see, as he struggled in this area at the beginning of 2024. However, by the year’s end he’d rediscovered that elite quality in approach that has defined much of his career and with the long irons currently firing, he looks a danger at a potentially rain-soaked Torrey Pines.

Morikawa debuted here in 2020, finishing 21^st in the Farmers Insurance Open. He was then an excellent 4^th at the course in the 2021 US Open and finishing 3^rd in the Farmers Insurance in 2023, we see how well he fits the course. Something that is evidenced further by great displays at Muirfield Village, where he’s won and finished 2^nd twice, along with a runner-up finish at Riviera.

2 pts Hideki Matsuyama each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 22/1

Hideki Matsuyama hasn’t quite managed to maintain the form he showed in that first event of the season – when he won The Sentry by three shots – largely struggling to keep the ball straight off the tee in his most recent starts. However, he got the driver back on track over the weekend in Phoenix and if able to keep that going, he’d have every chance of defending his title this week.

Hideki followed that win in Hawaii with a 16^th-place finish in the Sony Open, a 32^nd-place finish here in the Farmers Insurance Open and after disappointing at Pebble Beach, he returned to the top 25 in last week’s Phoenix Open.

He was somewhat unfortunate in the Farmers Insurance, as he opened with a strong 68 at the South Course, before being among those players to be hindered by an unusually difficult day at the normally easier North Course in round two.

That being said, the driver was an issue there, as it was across his following two-and-a-half events. Although, as the 33^rd-ranked driver on tour last season, it was only a matter of time before he got it back under control, which he managed to do in rounds three and four at TPC Scottsdale.

Combined with his ever-impressive approach play, for which he ranked 15^th on tour last season and ranks 10^th so far this, excelling between 175-200 yards, he’s hitting the ball well enough to be a feature at Torrey Pines.

Hideki has played here in the Farmers Insurance Open on 12 occasions, recording five top 25s and just two missed cuts. He’s twice hit the top 10, going best when 3^rd in 2019 and possessing victories at Muirfield Village and Riviera, as well as top 5s in Houston and at Quail Hollow, he has form in all the right places.

1111.25 pts Taylor Pendrith each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 40/1

Taylor Pendrith had been knocking on the door on the PGA Tour for several years before finally breaking through in the CJ CUP Byron Nelson last year. He used that as a springboard, amassing a commendably consistent run of results for the rest of the year and beginning 2025 in similar form, this high-quality ball-striker could contend for the biggest win of his career in San Diego.

Pendrith hasn’t missed a cut across his four starts this season and comes into this week off the back of two top 10s, finishing 7^th here in the Farmers Insurance Open and 9^th at Pebble Beach.

His long game has looked in fine shape over those events, ranking 2^nd in greens-in-regulation, 3^rd off-the-tee – where he’s been long and straight, ranking 5^th in total driving – and 38^th in approach. This very much mirrors his performances at the end of 2024 and whilst he’s initially struggled to get the putter rolling, it was a positive to see him finally find something in the final round at Pebble Beach.

Pendrith only missed the cut by one on his debut at Torrey Pines South in the 2021 US Open, and he has since gone on to put together an eye-catching sequence of results here in the Farmers Insurance Open, recording finishes of 16^th, 9^th and 7^th in his four starts in that event.

Despite that win last year, he still looks to be on somewhat of an upwards curve and with the level of ball-striking he’s displaying, he has the ability to take down an event of this standard.

1 pt Matt Fitzpatrick each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 90/1

Looking at his bare results, it would appear that Matt Fitzpatrick has failed to quite get going this season. Having said that, the long game has been largely positive and as a player who often comes alive on these lengthy, major-like setups, he looks a big price to be in the mix at Torrey Pines.

Fitzpatrick began the year with a solid 24^th-place finish in The Sentry, where he was among the best drivers in the field, ranking 8^th off-the-tee. Although he’s followed that with a 48^th-place finish at Pebble Beach and a missed cut last week, the long game has continued to look decent.

The Englishman had made major improvements with the driver in recent years, though struggled with the club at the end of last year. However, he looks to have got it back in a good place, ranking 29^th so far in 2025 and sitting 11^th in greens-in-reg, it’s clear the long game has not been a real issue at the start of this year.

Indeed, it’s been the putter that has stopped him making progress in the last two starts. This is an area in which he typically excels more than most and I’m happy to take a chance on him rediscovering his touch on the greens this week. If able to do that whilst maintaining the level of ball-striking he’s been showing, he’d be an exciting prospect for this test.

Fitzpatrick has only played here once, finishing 55^th in the 2021 US Open. Although, possessing finishes of 3^rd and 5^th in the Memorial Tournament, as well as a 5^th at Riviera, he has some eye-catching comp form that indicates he’s capable of bettering that result this week.