Genesis Invitational

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: Genesis Invitational
• Date: February 19 – February 22, 2026
• Venue: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California
• Purse: $20,000,000 (winner $4 million)
• Course Details: Designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell, this week’s host layout stretches to about 7,400 yards and remains one of the purest tests of precision on Tour, with tight kikuyu fairways and firm, fast Poa annua greens that reward only the sharpest ball‑striking. Its classic routing—with subtle elevation changes, angled doglegs, and demanding green complexes—continues to separate elite shot‑makers from the field, making it a perennial venue where strategy and control matter just as much as power.
• Weather: Expect a rain‑soaked opening round Thursday with cool temperatures and winds reaching the mid‑teens, but conditions should turn dry and calmer Friday through Sunday with highs climbing into the low‑60s. Overall, the weekend sets up to be sunny, mild, and largely wind‑friendly, offering a much more predictable scoring environment after a wet start.
• FedEx Points: 700 points to the winner.

The PGA TOUR arrives at one of its most storied stops as the 2026 Genesis Invitational — Tiger Woods’s tournament — returns to its historic home for the event’s 100th playing, following last year’s temporary move to Torrey Pines after devastating Los Angeles‑area wildfires forced the event away from Riviera. This year’s Signature Event features a limited 72‑player field and a 36‑hole cut to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead — one of the few elevated events where players must still earn their weekend tee times. It also comes with a massive $20 million purse and a $4 million winner’s share, adding extra weight to each shot. Tiger Woods is on‑site hosting but will not compete as he continues recovering from multiple injuries and surgeries, including a ruptured Achilles and lumbar disc replacement, leaving his return timeline uncertain. Even without Woods in the field, the star power remains electric: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, and defending champion Ludvig Åberg headline one of the strongest fields of the season.

Past Champions:

• 2025 – Ludvig Åberg (-12)
• 2024 – Hideki Matsuyama (-17)
• 2023 – Jon Rahm (-17) 
• 2022 – Joaquin Niemann (-19)
• 2021 – Max Homa (-12)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

As the second Signature Event of the season, this week’s Genesis Invitational brings a limited 72‑player field with a 36‑hole cut to the top 50 and ties, a structure that still allows most of the field to reach the weekend while encouraging players to stay aggressive early. Because the majority of competitors typically survive this softer‑than‑normal cut line, golfers can lean into high‑ceiling, attacking strategies, knowing the risk of missing the weekend is lower than in standard full‑field events—yet not eliminated entirely. The result is a compelling strategic blend: players must strike the right balance between bold scoring opportunities and smart, conservative decision‑making, especially on Riviera’s penal misses. With the tournament returning to Riviera’s demanding layout after last year’s wildfire‑driven relocation, success again hinges on precision, discipline, and course‑tested savvy—traits that consistently separate contenders on this iconic track.

Here are some notable names to consider—and a few to be wary of:

• Scottie Scheffler – One of the most reliable performers at Riviera with five straight strong finishes (T3, T10, T12, T7, T20). Enters as the world No. 1 and betting favorite with top‑10 machine‑like consistency. 
• Max Homa – True “horse for the course” with a stellar record: 1st, T10, 2nd, T16 in recent Riviera starts. Grew up in the area and has a deep comfort level on these greens and approaches. 
• Patrick Cantlay – Consistently near the top at Riviera, posting 3rd, T4, T5 finishes. One of the field’s most reliable tee‑to‑green players, perfectly suited to Riviera’s demands. 
• Collin Morikawa – Elite iron play plus strong Riviera results: T2, T6, T17, T19. With another win recently, he enters with momentum and a course fit few can match. 
• Hideki Matsuyama – The most recent Riviera champion (2024), winning with a historic closing 62. Arrives in form with several straight top‑15 finishes. 
• Tommy Fleetwood – Quietly excellent at Riviera with T5, T10, T20 in last three appearances. His patient, shot‑shaping style fits this layout extremely well.

Potential Fades:

• Viktor Hovland – Talented enough to win anywhere, but Riviera has shown him mixed results: CUT, T19, T20, T4, T5. High upside, but not the week’s safest play.
• Sam Burns – Has flashed brilliance here (3rd, T10), but his Riviera profile is volatile with CUT, CUT, T10, T24 across appearances. Another boom‑or‑bust option. 
• Ludvig Åberg – Defending champion in name only—his win came at Torrey Pines, not Riviera. Limited true course history here, with only a T19 to date. Temper expectations. 
• Jordan Spieth – A fan favorite with world‑class talent, but Riviera’s demand for pinpoint driving and disciplined approach play has historically exposed his inconsistency here. (No top finishes compared to elite peers.)

🧐 Did You Know?

• Neither Scottie nor Rory has won here yet. The only past champions in the field are Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama two years ago, and both Max Homa and Adam Scott, who are playing on sponsor invitations this year. Several golfers currently on LIV have won here in the recent past, but are not playing on Tour anymore.
  
• Strong correlation between golfers who have won here and at Augusta. Several winners of this event have also won at the Masters, including golfers who have won at both. This includes Matsuyama, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Mike Weir.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

This week’s Genesis Invitational presents a distinct fantasy challenge where the limited field and softer‑than‑normal cut still allow most golfers to reach the weekend—giving players more freedom to take calculated risks while avoiding the full jeopardy of a traditional cut. With a high percentage of the field likely to see all four rounds, volatility remains an asset, enabling ball‑strikers and streaky scorers more opportunities to find form, recover from mistakes, and climb the leaderboard. Riviera’s return adds another layer of strategy—its history shows that elite tee‑to‑green players, repeat course performers, and patient tacticians thrive here, while others with weaker course fits tend to get exposed. And because last year’s event unfolded at Torrey Pines rather than Riviera, it’s crucial not to overweight 2025 results when projecting performance this week—true course form once again matters far more. As a result, your builds should lean into proven Riviera specialists, mix in form‑driven risers, and strategically deploy sleeper upside, knowing the cut is still forgiving enough to support aggressive lineup construction while demanding enough to punish poor early play.

In Signature Events, sleepers often end up looking like veteran contenders because the field is so densely packed with elite talent that “under‑the‑radar” value frequently comes from experienced players who know how to navigate demanding setups.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Sahith Theegala – Theegala has both history and motivation working for him this week: he owns a T6 at Riviera in 2023 and returns as this year’s Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption recipient. He’s also opened the 2026 season 5‑for‑5 with two top‑10s, signaling strong form heading into a course where he’s already shown he can contend.
• Rickie Fowler – Fowler hasn’t produced a Riviera spike recently, but he brings no worse than a T19 in his last five starts overall and currently ranks 4th in the PGA TOUR All‑Around metric, suggesting his game is trending. As a local Southern California native with deep experience at this event, he’s a sneaky candidate to outperform.
• Si Woo Kim – A volatile but intriguing option, Si Woo owns a 3rd‑place finish at Riviera (2019) and remains one of the TOUR’s sharpest iron players when he’s on. His recent run—T12, T14, T25 in consecutive starts—supports a legitimate case for a high‑end outcome at this ball‑striker’s course.
• Matt Fitzpatrick – Rarely mentioned as a Riviera threat, Fitzpatrick has the profile to surprise: he’s accurate, grinds well on demanding par‑4s, and offers consistent top‑tier short‑game production. Odds markets suggest he’s undervalued among the high‑end mid‑tier, giving him sneaky appeal.
• Ben Griffin – One of the more overlooked names with upside this week, Griffin enters appearing undervalued relative to his odds positioning near notable contenders. With strong early‑season metrics and a game that leans on accuracy and putting, he’s the kind of under‑the‑radar play who can ride four rounds into a surprise top‑15 finish.

⭐️ Pro Tip: Don’t just chase firepower—prioritize players who can stay aggressive without losing control, because Riviera rewards conviction while punishing anyone who mistakes “go for it” for “spray and pray.”

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Genesis Invitational has a total prize purse of $20,000,000, the same as last week. However, because it features a cut (Top 50 and ties) and already has a smaller field, more prize money is allocated to the top. The winner receives $4,000,000.

That puts it behind only The Players Championship and (probably) the Masters and U.S. Open once their official 2026 purses are announced.

• In other words, this is a good week to consider a top option.

Picking the right golfer sometimes feels a lot like saving your best bottle of wine—wait too long for the “perfect moment,” and you realize someone else uncorked your advantage weeks ago. The trick is embracing the timing: choose a player whose course fit and current form make this the week he’s most likely to pay off, not the week you’re most afraid to miss out.

Download the One & Done strategy guide by Team Rankings

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

💰 Select Betting Odds

Top Favorites
Scottie Scheffler +330
Rory McIlroy +1000
Hideki Matsuyama +1800
Xander Schauffele +2200
Tommy Fleetwood +2200

Mid Tier Contenders
Sam Burns +3300
Matt Fitzpatrick +3300
Chris Gotterup +3300
Maverick McNealy +4000
Ben Griffin +4000

Long Shots
Keegan Bradley +5500
Shane Lowry +5500
Jordan Spieth +6000
Max Homa +7500
Ryo Hisatsune +8000

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