The PGA Tour will shift across the state of California to the Pacific Palisades and the Rivera Country Club for this week’s Genesis Open. There will be no doubt about which golfer every player will be gunning for as Bubba Watson has won this event in two of the last three years. However, Watson will have plenty of competition and even though he has dominated this tournament in the past he will not be the sports betting favorite to win this event in 2017.
Event Details
Event: Genesis Open
Category: PGA
Date: February 16-19
Location: Rivera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California
Jordan Spieth will be the sports betting favorite for this year’s event and there is a strong contingent of names listed ahead of Watson according to the sportsbook odds. Spieth is coming off a win at Pebble Beach last week and it will be interesting to see whether he builds off that victory with another strong performance this week.
Past Five Winners
2016: Bubba Watson -15
2015: James Hahn -6 (Playoff)
2014: Bubba Watson -15
2013: John Merrick -11 (Playoff)
2012: Bill Haas -7 (Playoff)
What To Know About The Course
Most people think that Driving Distance is a very important statistic to consider at this course but the reality is that the average winner has ranked around 25th in that department over the last 12 years. Watson only ranked 50th in Driving Accuracy when he won here last year so it’s important not to overrate that category either this week. Hitting the small greens and Scrambling should be the more important statistics to look out for this week. 12 of the last 17 winners have ranked inside the top-10 for Greens In Regulation so it’s important to consider that category as a key stat for this week as well.
The Field
Spieth is listed at +800 odds to win this event outright followed by Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama at +900 to win. Jason Day is expected to be in the mix as well at +1000 odds with Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas all listed ahead of Watson according to the sportsbook odds. In fact, those that feel Watson is due for another strong performance should be willing to take a chance on him this week as an excellent value play as he is available at +3300 odds to win this tournament for the third time.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Brandt Snedeker over Phil Mickelson
Mickelson likely doesn’t deserve to be ranked as high as he is by the sportsbooks and with Snedeker coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes he could be an excellent value pick this week. Snedeker has only two top-20 finishes in his six starts here but he should have a good enough feel for this course to deliver a better performance this week. Snedeker is playing really good golf right now and the fact that he is the underdog in the head-to-head betting matchup with Mickelson makes him an excellent pick for the Genesis Open.
Top-Five Pick: Bubba Watson
Watson has won here in two of the last three years so he should be confident about his chances this week despite his recent form. Watson might not win this tournament outright again but he should be in the mix and a top-five finish isn’t out of the question by any means. At long odds, Watson is definitely a strong value play to finish in the top-five this week at the Genesis Open.
Genesis Open Tee Times
6:40 a.m. – Patton Kizzire, Cameron Smith, Ollie Schneiderjans
6:50 a.m. – Brian Harman, Shawn Stefani, Luke List
7:01 a.m. – Camilo Villegas, Scott Brown, Marc Leishman
7:11 a.m. – Si Woo Kim, Padraig Harrington, Stewart Cink
7:22 a.m. – James Hahn, J.B. Holmes, Matt Kuchar
7:32 a.m. – Greg Chalmers, Steven Bowditch, Webb Simpson
7:43 a.m. – Brendan Steele, Ryan Moore, Nick Taylor
7:53 a.m. – Charley Hoffman, Peter Malnati, Luke Donald
8:04 a.m. – Hudson Swafford, Patrick Reed, J.J. Henry
8:14 a.m. – Charlie Beljan, Ricky Barnes, Jon Curran
8:25 a.m. – Kevin Streelman, Jamie Lovemark, Adam Hadwin
8:35 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Kevin Hall, Kevin Dougherty
10th tee
6:40 a.m. – Carl Pettersson, Chad Campbell, Anirban Lahiri
6:50 a.m. – Johnson Wagner, Mark Hubbard, Thomas Pieters
7:01 a.m. – Kyle Stanley, Graham DeLaet, Patrick Rodgers
7:11 a.m. – Billy Hurley III, Robert Streb, Vijay Singh
7:22 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson
7:32 a.m. – Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Justin Rose
7:43 a.m. – Pat Perez, Jimmy Walker, Paul Casey
7:53 a.m. – Branden Grace, Brandt Snedeker, Charles Howell III
8:04 a.m. – Aaron Baddeley, Ernie Els, Kevin Na
8:14 a.m. – Seung-Yul Noh, Cameron Tringale, Michael Kim
8:25 a.m. – Spencer Levin, David Hearn, Sung Kang
8:35 a.m. – Sam Saunders, Rob Oppenheim, Jonathan Garrick
1st Tee
11:20 a.m. – Kyle Reifers, Zac Blair Harold Varner III
11:30 a.m. – Harris English, Martin Laird, Brett Stegmaier
11:41 a.m. – John Senden, Francesco Molinari, Cameron Percy
11:51 a.m. – Troy Merritt, Ben Martin, Keegan Bradley
12:02 p.m. – Shane Lowry, Nick Watney, K.J. Choi
12:12 p.m. – Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Bill Haas
12:23 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Jason Day
12:33 p.m. – Cody Gribble, Billy Horschel, Ryan Palmer
12:44 p.m. – Geoff Ogilvy, Bud Cauley, Tyrone Van Aswegen
12:54 p.m. – Derek Fathauer, Blayne Barber, Andrew Loupe
1:05 p.m. – John Huh, Chez Reavie, Jason Kokrak
1:15 p.m. – Kevin Tway, Grayson Murray, Michael Block
10th tee
11:20 a.m. – Daniel Summerhays, Ryo Ishikawa, Byeong Hun An
11:30 a.m. – John Merrick, Soren Kjeldsen, Ryan Blaum
11:41 a.m. – Bob Estes, Morgan Hoffmann, Whee Kim
11:51 a.m. – Tony Finau, Graeme McDowell, Matt Every
12:02 p.m. – Charl Schwartzel, Vaughn Taylor, Alex Cejka
12:12 p.m. – Scott Piercy, Danny Lee, Hunter Mahan
12:23 p.m. – Jim Herman, Fabian Gomez, Brooks Koepka
12:33 p.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Jhonattan Vegas, Brian Stuard
12:44 p.m. – Ken Duke, Kevin Chappell, Steve Marino
12:54 p.m. – Ben Crane, Bryce Molder, Chad Collins
1:05 p.m. – Kelly Kraft, Wesley Bryan, Sahith Theegala
1:15 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Jinho Choi, Rich Berberian Jr. I
1:12 p.m. – Trey Mullinax and Dan Fireman (5), Richy Werenski and Rick
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