The Tour moves a bit south this week, but more towards Los Angeles with the Genesis Open at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Riviera is somewhat storied, hosting PGA events since 1926, the Genesis since 1972 and last year was the site for the U.S. Amateurs. The course logs in at 7,322 yards, with just three fives — one on the front, a pair on the back — complemented by four threes, two per side.
That makes the remaining 11 holes very long par fours, with the shortest measuring at 408 yards save the infamous 10th, which registers at a little over 320 but is none the easier thanks to George Thomas, Jr.
Again, with the long course and accuracy paramount, I looked at hitting the greens from 125-plus on out. By the way, the weather, which has been stunning in California the past two weeks — and even warmer than Maui, where I have been with the family since Super Bowl Sunday — looks to continue with sunny skies looming all four days.
Who do I like at the Genesis? Look below, and don’t forget you can join a foursome playing the DraftKings Weekly Hybrid PGA.
Paul Casey ($10,200): Casey is five-for-five making the cut on the circuit thus far, with three top 10s and an average 85.3 points per week. Casey ranks atop the list at hitting the greens — though he is just six-for-six — from 125 out and is coming off an eighth at the ATT.
Phil Mickelson ($9900): Phil is just smoking hot — though not so much so from 125-150 hitting it just 35 of 52 times — but still, on top of a second at ATT on the heels of a fifth in Phoenix, it is pretty hard to pass up on the steady lefty.
Chez Reavie ($8000): Maybe I am overplaying my Reavie card (I had him the past two weeks), much like I overplayed Brian Harman earlier this season, but Reavie tied Mickelson at the ATT, has made nine straight cuts including a pair of top 10s, and sits at #15 hitting the greens with 44 shots of 53 nailing it.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello ($7700): Cabrera-Bello is just two-for-two reaching the greens, but the Spaniard is similarly nine-for-nine making cuts with four top 10s and a fine 83.8 fantasy points per week
Adam Scott ($7400): This selection is sort of like grabbing Carlos Beltran or Jose Bautista late in a draft as a sleeper/potential low-end contributor, hoping for for a .283-15-47 season with a late selection. Thus a target is Scott, who has played only four tourneys this year, with a pair of cuts made and second place finishes at the Riviera the past two years.
Brian Stuard ($6800): Kind of under-the-radar, though subtly, with seven cuts made over nine tries and three top 10s. Stuard ranks #42 at hitting the greens, with 63 shots of 82 tries hitting it, but the net was -.21 towards his score, so that is where we will exploit.
