Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com expert prognosticator Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network dedicated to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at @LasVegasGolferand you can read his picks below for the 2026 Genesis Invitational, which begins Thursday in Pacific Palisades, California.
LA Open, Hogan’s Alley, Riv … just a few of the various names given to this glorious golf course and this amazing tournament, now officially called the Genesis Invitational. Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, returns as the host course in 2026 for this Signature Event with a limited field after missed last season due to the fires in the Los Angeles area.
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2026 Genesis Invitational odds: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy lead favorites
Kevin Cunningham
Despite never having won on this golf course, Tiger Woods is the tournament host for what is my personal favorite non-major Tour. Most players on the PGA Tour will agree that Riviera is their favorite course of the regular tour stops on the calendar. There are 72 players in this week’s field. There is a 36-hole cutoff that will only allow players and ties in the top 50 and/or anyone within 10 shots of the lead to advance to the weekend.
George Thomas designed the golf course nearly 100 years ago. He plays at a par of 71 and has over 7,300 yards. Some of the Tour’s most famous holes stand on the Riv. The short, par-4 10th hole is arguably the best short par-4 in the world. The sixth hole is a par 3 with a sand bunker in the middle of the green. The fourth hole is a par 3 that is extended to a mammoth 273 yards. The fairways and fairways are made up of Kikuyu grass, which holds the ball up nicely on the fairway, but is a sticky and nasty ground to deal with in the rough and around the greens. The greens are large, wavy, and are Poa Annua, which is the same species we recently saw at Pebble Beach last week and at Torrey Pines last month.
The freeways are relatively tight here on the Riviera. There are many trees, gullies, elevation changes and dogs in both directions – many different obstacles that can prevent a player from approaching the green and thus, the Greens in Regulation numbers on this course are some of the most difficult on the circuit. This makes Scrambling extremely important, and as I mentioned, opening and extracting the green piece from Kikuyu can be particularly challenging. Like a major championship venue, Riviera will test every part of the game.
A remarkable number of champions here in Pacific Palisades are also major champions, especially Masters champions: Ben Hogan, Fred Couples, Nick Faldo, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, Mike Weir, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Watson and Craig Rifter have won both the National and August. In addition to Augusta, I used Torrey Pines, Kapalua Plantation CourseAND St. Andrews (Old Course) like my related courses this week.
Patrick Cantlay (33-1)
Hailing from Southern California and attending UCLA, Cantlay has plenty of experience on this golf course and has finished in the top 5 three times. Cantlay was also top 5 at Torrey Pines last season when it hosted the Genesis Invitational, entering Riviera due to the aforementioned wildfires. He also finished ninth at the Masters in 2019 and eighth at the St. Andrews in 2022. Cantlay has two top-15 finishes out West to start this season, including last week at Pebble Beach, where he tied for 12th in that field for SG: Tee to Green.
Matt Fitzpatrick (35-1)
The Englishman was also in the top 15 at Pebble last week, where he finished sixth in the field for SG: Tee to Green. Before that, Fitzpatrick finished top 10 in Phoenix. He’s been fifth here in LA, seventh in Kapalua and took 21st in St. Louis. Andrews in 2022. Twice, Fitzpatrick has been top 10 at the Masters. Over the last 24 rounds, Fitzpatrick is ranked 15th in the field for Scrambling and is currently third on the Tour in Greens in Regulation Percentage.
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Sam Burns (42-1)
While Bermudagrass is usually thought to be Burns’ preferred putting surface, he was masterful last week at Poa Annua at Pebble Beach, ranking fifth in that field for SG:Putting. He has finished in the top 10 and top 5 here at Riviera before and was eighth at Kapalua in 2025. Over the last 24 rounds, Burns ranks fourth in the field for Scrambling. If his tee-to-green game matches his short game this week, Burns will be back in contention.
Min Woo Lee (48-1)
The young Aussie came up one shot shy of forcing a playoff last week at Pebble Beach. His putting was excellent, ranking second in the field for SG: Putting for the tournament. He can hit it and currently ranks fourth on Tour in Total Driving. Lee finished 21st in St. Louis. Andrews in 2022 and has finished 14th and 22nd at the Masters. We’ve seen Australians do quite well here on the Riviera in the past and a lot of that is likely to do with their familiarity with Kikuyu grass. I’ll be banking on that strong current plus form banking on Lee to have another great performance in the west.
Jason Day (70-1)
Eleven years separate Lee and Day, but both Australians have excellent short games and, as I mentioned, familiarity with Kikuyu grass. Day has finished ninth here at Riviera in his last two outings. He has several top-10 finishes at Kapalua and the Masters, finished fourth at St. Andrews in 2015 and is a two-time champion at Torrey Pines. Day is currently 19th on the tour in Greens in Regulation Percentage and finished runner-up at the American Express a month ago in his first start of the 2026 season.
