Officialsportsbetting.com Golf Betting DraftKings preview: The Genesis Invitational

DraftKings preview: The Genesis Invitational

The west coast swing ends in the picturesque Pacific Palisades at The Genesis Invitational. The Riviera Country Club hosts and will play as a par 71, measuring 7,322 yards with poa annua greens. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] STRATEGY The top 10 golfers in the world are in the field, which includes the likes of Dustin Johnson (+1600, $10,200), Rory McIlroy (+2200, $9,700), Cameron Smith (+2200, $9,100) and Collin Morikawa (+2000, $10,400). With its elevated Invitational status, a smaller field of 120 golfers will compete, with the top 65 and ties making it to the weekend. The smaller field gives you a better chance of getting your entire DFS roster through the cut, with 23% fewer players in the field than a regular tournament. Even with no water hazards, The Riviera CC notoriously plays difficult, ranking inside the top 10 in scoring relative to par over the past few seasons. The fairways are tough to hit, recording close to a 7% less hit rate than the TOUR average. Same goes in terms of hitting greens with about an 8 % fewer green-hit-in-regulation rate than the TOUR average due to heavy undulations that runoff to tight collection areas. When golfers miss these greens, gaining strokes Around-the-Greens (ARG) becomes more necessary than usual. We’ve seen winners here gain an average of 2.2 strokes ARG over the past five years. The par-3 sixth hole is famous for its bunker in the middle of the green, and the par-4 10th hole is arguably the best short par-4 on TOUR. The novelty eventually wears off with how difficult this course has played in years past, especially on the closing eight holes. The closing nine is a contributing factor to why we’ve only seen eight golfers since 2000 go on to win after having the 54-hole lead. Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and those who are playing well Tee-to-Green are golfers we need to consider. Also, look at rostering players who perform well in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards, with six in this range. For contrarian roster construction, build lineups will golfers who have distance Off-The-Tee. Even though it’s not a long course, past winners include Johnson, Bubba Watson (+4500, $8,500), who has won here three times, and J.B. Holmes. Last season, three golfers who finished inside the top 5 in driving distance here also placed inside the top eight for the tournament. GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Will Zalatoris (+2800 to Win, $8,800 on DraftKings) The last time we saw Zalatoris was in a playoff loss at Torrey Pines, where he led the field (on the South Course) in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (12.4). Last season, a top-15 finish at The Riviera CC came thanks to excellent iron play and solid navigation of the poa annua greens, which is what he should recall rather than his struggles a few weeks ago in San Diego. Zalatoris was able to gain 4.9 strokes on Riviera’s greens last season, the highest he’s achieved in any tournament during his professional career. His ball-striking has been elite, gaining strokes with his irons in seven-straight measured events. The former Demon Deacon performs well on par 4s measuring between 450 to 500 yards, ranking fifth over the previous 24 rounds. Scottie Scheffler (+2200, $9,200) got his first win last week, and it’s time for Will’s this week. Marc Leishman (+6000 to Win, $7,900 on DraftKings) The Aussie is always a threat in California, with a win at Torrey Pines and two top-five finishes here dating back to 2016. Leishman has a knack for playing these traditional courses well, finishing top five twice at Augusta National along with a pair of top five finishes at Muirfield Village (Memorial). He’s gained strokes with his irons in eight straight Genesis Invitationals and has shown he can compete with the best in the world. Leishman ranks 33rd in par 4 efficiency on holes measuring 450 to 500 yards and 15th in par 5 efficiency in the previous 24 rounds. Si Woo Kim (+9000 to Win, $7,300 on DraftKings) This three-time winner should feel comfortable with how well he plays on the West Coast. A 26th-place finish last week, gaining 1.63 strokes with his irons and 1.91 Off-the-Tee on Sunday and three top 11s in his California events this season (Fortinet Championship, The American Express, Farmers Insurance) are enough to give him a nod this week. A win at the 2021 American Express and a third place in The Genesis Invitational in 2019 make him one of the favorites in this range. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app. All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests. The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.

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Is this Tiger better suited for Riviera?Is this Tiger better suited for Riviera?

LOS ANGELES – Magic happens in Hollywood. The Oscars came and went this weekend in Los Angeles as the iconic golden statues were handed out in a celebration of the best motion pictures have to offer. ‘Parasite’ took home plenty of awards, with Best Original Screenplay being one of them. But even those now-decorated writers may not be able to dream up a storyline quite like Tiger Woods winning this week at Riviera Country Club. Woods serves as host of the now-elevated Genesis Invitational this week at Riviera – a tournament that is now on the same level as a pair of other events named after and/or hosted by golf legends: the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (Jack Nicklaus). Sitting on 82 PGA TOUR wins, tied with Sam Snead at the top of the all-time list, Woods is looking to sit alone atop the list with another victory. It’s already been an incredible career for the 44-year-old, but winning at Riviera has eluded him. Related: Will Woods return as Presidents Cup captain? | TOUR pros: My first time with Tiger | Tiger chasing record 83rd TOUR win Woods has played Riviera Country Club 12 times on the PGA TOUR without a win – the most starts on a course without victory in his storied career. It all began as a 16-year-old in 1992 with the native Californian’s TOUR debut. He was runner up in 1999 and had additional top-10s at Riviera in 2003 and 2004, but otherwise hasn’t had much to get overly excited about. The majority of his starts, 10 of them, happened between 1992 and 2006 before he returned over the last two seasons as host. Back in his prime, Woods would struggle with the inconsistent poa annua greens at the iconic course as well as the thick kikuyu rough that he would often find off the tee. The propensity for the tournament to fall in rare wet weeks for Los Angeles didn’t help either. But this is a new Tiger Woods. A more matured player who, more than ever, knows how to plod his way around to find a score. He doesn’t try to overpower a course; he tries to outthink it. So is he more suited to a win at Riviera Country Club than ever before? And has he allowed himself to think just how incredible such a win would be in the scope of his career? “That’s been mentioned,â€� Woods said with a smile. “To come here in, what, ’92 and play but to come here with my dad and my old pro, Rudy, who took me up here. I remember watching Lanny Wadkins play well here and win, seeing Corey Pavin and Davis and Freddie go after it. There’s a lot of history for me.â€� Woods recounted a story from his childhood where, as a spectator, he ran over to the eighth green to watch Tom Watson hit a chip shot from near the gallery, only to be moved out of the way by Watson’s caddie Bruce Edwards. He recounted it when he joined the TOUR and was told playfully, “well, you were in the way.â€� Woods still beams at such stories from his younger years. “For me to have experiences like that here at Riv and to have now this be my event.. (it’s great), and hopefully on Sunday we’ll be having this discussion a little bit more,â€� Woods added. “I’ve played in a number of events over the years and for me not to win an event that has meant so much to me in my hometown (is tough). I’ve done well in San Diego, I’ve done well at Sherwood, just haven’t done well here. So hopefully I can put together this week and we’ll have a great conversation on Sunday.â€� So what does the man himself say has stood in the way of his success at Riviera? “Historically, never really putted well here,â€� Woods says. “I’ve played here so many rounds. It suits a natural cutter of the golf ball, so I figured that’s what I have done pretty much my entire career, but when it comes right down to it, you’ve got to hit the ball well here because the greens are so small and they’re so slopey. “If you look at the history of champions at this event, they have all been able to shape the golf ball. There are some great alley ways with the eucalyptus trees but you still have to be able to shape the ball. And people don’t realize these greens have a lot of steepness to them. So hitting the ball in the correct spots stresses the iron game but also again, if you are able to shape the ball correctly, it makes these greens, even though they are tiny, a lot bigger.â€� One man who has had success at Riviera is three-time champion Bubba Watson. And he believes Woods is a serious threat to stopping his quest for a fourth title, despite what his previous results indicate. “What I have seen over the last year – the smooth swing… the calm motion of the driver and iron swing look the same now speed-wise… and he just looks so controlled,â€� Watson said. “He can win at any moment. Doesn’t matter the course, the difficulty… with his golf swing so pure, he can win. And he knows this golf course better than most, so it just comes down to trusting his putter. Trusting he has the read and trusting his stroke. In the past, he has played well here, we just expect so much from him and I think he just hasn’t made those momentum putts.â€� With a positive weather forecast this week in Los Angeles, the soft poa greens that bring out more hops and skips won’t surface as much. We certainly won’t be looking at a 34-hole final round like a year ago. “The harder the golf course, the better his chances,â€� Matt Kuchar says. “This place is difficult. If the greens and course is firm he has an even better chance. And I put so much more stock in to how you are playing presently and how much control you have versus historical results.â€� When it comes to form, Woods is doing pretty well. He won The ZOZO Championship earlier this season and was a clear MVP of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team, which he also captained, at Royal Melbourne in December. More recently, he was T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open a few weeks back. While he is yet to play enough rounds this season to officially qualify for rankings in TOUR stats, he would be 51st in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green if he were ranked. Woods’ irons might be as good as they have ever been in and his driver no longer produces the wild miss of his younger years. So if he can find the fairway somewhat consistently, the chances are he will have more looks at birdie than others. “I don’t think there is a course he’s not suited to in his current form. What I saw down in Australia – that’s as good as I’ve seen him drive it as long as I have been around him,â€� Steve Stricker said. “He’s always been a great iron player and he looks like he has his putting under control. So I wouldn’t put anything past him. I’m sure he feels a little extra pressure here to win. He got his first start here as a 16-year-old and he grew up right down the road. So I bet he really wants it, which can sometimes get in the way. But no one should be surprised if he does well here this week.â€� Striker might be the missing ingredient this week. The veteran is known for giving putting advice to Woods in the past and does so with countless TOUR players when asked outside of competition rounds. He is paired with Woods over the opening two rounds this week. Perhaps that familiar feeling will help Woods stay at peace with the ebbs and flows of the putting surfaces. And if, come Sunday, Woods can slay the jinx at the place where it all began and take the all-time TOUR wins record outright in his home state, that would be a performance worthy of an Oscar.

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