Harry’s Picks: The Genesis Invitational’s Best Golf Odds for the Weekend
The Tournament:
The Genesis Invitational
From Pacific Palisades, CA (Riviera CC)
Best Sports Books 2020
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The Best Plays on the Golf Odds this Weekend: Leader After 1st Round
Brooks Koepka +3000
This past weekend, Koepka relinquishes his World No. 1 status to Rory McIlroy so this might seem like a weird bet. However, this is a star studded field at Riviera Country Club and when the big names come out, that is when Koepka brings his “A” game. Koepka can’t be happy dropping to No. 2 in the world and at +3000 he has incentive to come out and take back what was his and fire an opening round 65.
Picking the leader of the 1st round is extremely tough, but he will be playing on Thursday with a bit of a chip on his shoulder and that alone is worth the risk… especially with the length of these odds
The Best Plays on the Golf Odds this Weekend: Whole Tournament Matchups
-140 Dustin Johnson over Patrick Cantlay
In his career, Dustin Johnson has shined brightly in Pacific Palisades with numerous top 10 performances. He won this tournament in 2017 and from 2009 to 2016 he has six top 10 finishes. He’ll surpass Cantlay.
-110 Phil Mickelson over Jordan Spieth
Mickelson has 44 career wins and finished 3rd last week at Pebble Beach. Phil won this tournament in back-to-back years in 2008 and 2009. Not only that, but Mickelson also has two 2nd place finishes here and is 3rd on the all-time money list at Riviera.
-110 Charles Howell III over Nick Taylor
Howell won here in 2007 and has two top 10 finishes in the past three years. Taylor was a surprise +12500 winner at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week and might not have much left in the tank as he heads down the California coast.
The Best Plays on the Golf Odds this Weekend: Top 20 Finish
+900 Michael Thompson
This is a reach, but Thompson has played only once in his career at Riviera and that yielded him a 7th place finish last season. Soooo, why not?
+750 Martin Laird
Laird is also a large longshot, but the price is right for a golfer who has three top 15 finishes here in the past four tournaments. Also, with the length of this course, his ranking of 37th overall in driving distance on tour should help tremendously.
+285 Ryan Moore
The UNLV graduate has two top 20 finishes here in the last four years and has two top 10 finishes so far this season while on the tour. Moore is also 11th on the PGA in driving accuracy, which always helps.
The Best Plays on the Golf Odds this Weekend: Top 10 Finish
-125 Justin Thomas
Thomas is currently 1st on tour in the Fed Ex Cup standings and already has four top 10 finishes on the 2019-20 season. Thomas also finished second here a season ago.
+105 Dustin Johnson
As I mentioned earlier Dustin Johnson has numerous top 10 finishes here dating back 10 years and that includes last year’s 9th place finish.
The Best Plays on the Golf Odds this Weekend: Top 10 Finish, Top 5 Finish and Win Tournament Bets
Bubba Watson
+200 Top 10
+500 Top 5
+2500 To Win
Bubba loves Riviera, but really loves it on even years. Watson has won here the past three even years (2018, 2016, 2014). He is off to a solid season with five made cuts in five events and has finished in the top 20 in all of them. So far in 2020 he has a 6th place finish at Torrey Pines and a 3rd in Scottsdale. Plus, check your calendar, it is an even year. So considering the even year work and the (more importantly) solid play from Bubba to start the season, it’s hard not to back Bubba in this spot.
Harry Gagnon
Expert WriterHarry Gagnon spent 14 years as a Vegas Sportsbook Supervisor and holds a Communications degree from SUNY-Oswego. You might know him better as part of the Degenerate Trifecta on the award nominated betting podcast “Against All odds with Cousin Sal” on the Ringer Podcast Network. Feel free to find him on Twitter (@AAOHarry) and tweet him a message if you want to talk casinos, sports, or just shoot the breeze about betting in general cause, hey, that’s what Twitter is for, right?