Genesis Open: PGA Golf Odds And Predictions
The PGA Tour’s early-season West Coast Swing comes to a conclusion starting Thursday with the Genesis Open at storied Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. It’s also a chance for golf bettors to see Tiger Woods in action for the second time in 2018.
Genesis Open Background
We’re getting closer to correctly forecasting a winner here at Sports Interaction! Two weeks ago at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, our recommendation was Brendan Steele at the long-shot price of +5400, and he finished third to pay off for a Top 10. Last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, heavy favourite Dustin Johnson was the easy winning call as he is a “horse for the course” at Pebble. D.J. was the leader entering the final round Sunday but shot a week-worst 72 to finish in a tie for second, three shots behind unlikely champion Ted Potter.
The PGA Tour heads to Florida next week and wraps up the West Coast Swing with the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles this weekend. The course is often referred to as “Hogan’s Alley” after Ben Hogan, who won the 1948 U.S. Open and three Los Angeles Opens there. The tournament has gone through a handful of name changes, switching to Genesis Open in 2017. Riviera is a par 71 measuring 7,322 yards.
Genesis Open Player Odds
Tiger Woods is +3100 to win a tournament he never has in 10 tries. Then again, Tiger hasn’t played here since 2006. Woods made his first official tournament start since late January 2017 a couple of weeks ago at the Farmers Insurance Open and finished a very solid 3-under 285 and tied for 23rd.
Johnson is an even bigger opening favourite this week than last at +505 and is the defending champion. He shot 17-under 267 to win by five over Scott Brown and Thomas Pieters. It also put Johnson at No. 1 in the world for the first time in his career.
Rory McIlroy (+1200), Jordan Spieth (+1200), Phil Mickelson (+1500) and Justin Thomas (+1800) round out the favourites. I recommended Mickelson for a Top 10 last week and he finished in a tie for second. He won at Riviera in 2008 & ’09. None of those other guys have won here. McIlroy missed the cut last week.
Canadian Golfer Odds
Twice a Canadian has won this event and it was Mike Weir both times, in 2003 & ’04. After taking last week off, Adam Hadwin is +8100. He finished T34 here last year and was 16th the year before. Hadwin was T43 last time out at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Nick Taylor is +20000 to get his first PGA Tour win. He missed the 54-hole cut last week at Pebble at 1 over, his third MC in 10 events this season. Taylor was T55 here in 2017. Ben Silverman is +28300 in his tournament debut. He also was cut last week.
Genesis Open Predictions
Don’t recommend a Top 10 for Tiger but wager on another for Johnson, who also was second here in 2014 & ’15. The winning pick at +2200 is England’s Paul Casey. He was a runner-up here as recently as 2015 and tied for eighth last week. He hasn’t finished worse than T19 in four PGA Tour events in the 2017-18 season.