One of the most unique things about the course at The Riviera Country Club, where this weekend's 2022 Genesis Invitational is held, is the par-3 sixth hole. The green features a bunker square in the middle of it, but it wasn't a problem for last year's champ Max Homa. Homa birdied the hole in the final two rounds of last year's tournament en route to a playoff victory, but he returns this year at 40-1 in the latest 2022 Genesis Invitational odds on Caesars Sportsbook. Tee times start at 9:40 a.m. ET on Thursday.
Had Tony Finau not bogeyed the sixth hole in the third round, he might not have found himself in that playoff with Homa, but he was able to take his first birdie of the tourney on it in the fourth round. Finau also heads into this event as a 40-1 long shot, but is either golfer worth your consideration when it comes to making your Genesis Invitational 2022 bets. Before locking in your 2022 Genesis Invitational picks, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, it's up almost $10,000 on its best bets since that point, nailing tournament after tournament.
At the 2021 Open Championship, McClure's best bets included Collin Morikawa winning outright even though he was listed as a massive 40-1 long shot. In addition, McClure's model was all over Jon Rahm's (10-1) first career major championship victory at the 2021 U.S. Open. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the weekend, but the model still projected him as the winner.
This same model has also nailed a whopping seven majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.
Now that the Genesis Invitational 2022 field is locked, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected 2022 Genesis Invitational leaderboard.
The model's top 2022 Genesis Invitational predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the 2022 Genesis Invitational: Collin Morikawa, a five-time PGA Tour champion and one of the top favorites, stumbles this week and barely cracks the top 10. The 25-year-old is off to a blistering start this season, finishing T-7 or better in each of his last three events.
However, Morikawa has struggled mightily at Riviera in his career, finishing T-26 or worse in each of his last two starts at the Genesis Invitational. In addition, Morikawa has had trouble with his short game this season, ranking 173rd in strokes gained: around-the-green (-.252) and 157th in total putting (269.2), which doesn't bode well for his chances to finish on top of the leaderboard this week. He's not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the Genesis Invitational 2022 field.
Another surprise: Cameron Smith, a 25-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.
One of Smith's five top-fives from last season came at the Genesis, and he appears poised to improve on his fourth place finish from last year. Smith was ahead of the curve in nearly every scoring metric in the 2021 event, when he averaged 1.15 strokes gained around the green and 1.27 strokes gained on the approach per round.
He comes into this weekend fifth in greens hit in regulation (77.16 percent), second in birdies averaged per round (5.89) and first overall in scoring average (69.22) on the PGA Tour. Smith missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii after winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions, but he played well in his most recent event, a fourth place finish in the Saudi International on the Asian Tour on February 6.
How to make 2022 Genesis Invitational picks
The model is also targeting two other golfers with odds of 25-1 or higher who will make surprising runs. Anyone who backs these long shots could hit it big. You can only see them here.
So who will win the 2022 Genesis Invitational? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2022 Genesis Invitational leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed seven golf majors and is up almost $10,000 since the restart.
2022 Genesis Invitational odds
Jon Rahm +900
Patrick Cantlay +1200
Justin Thomas +1600
Dustin Johnson +1800
Collin Morikawa +2000
Rory McIlroy +2200
Xander Schauffele +2200
Viktor Hovland +2500
Scottie Scheffler +2500
Cameron Smith +2500
Will Zalatoris +2500
Hideki Matsuyama +2500
Matt Fitzpatrick +3300
Sam Burns +3300
Brooks Koepka +3300
Sungjae Im +3500
Jordan Spieth +3500
Adam Scott +4000
Max Homa +4000
Bubba Watson +4000
Marc Leishman +5000
Tony Finau +5000
Russell Henley +5000
Talor Gooch +5000
Sergio Garcia +6000
Joaquin Niemann +6000
Paul Casey +6000
Thomas Pieters +6600
Kevin Na +6600
Abraham Ancer +6600
Patrick Reed +6600
Jason Kokrak +6600
Alex Noren +7000
Tom Hoge +7000
Si-Woo Kim +7000
Cameron Tringale +7000
Seamus Power +7000
Maverick McNealy +8000
Corey Conners +8000
Erik Van Rooyen +8000
Luke List +8000
Lanto Griffin +8000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +8000
Mackenzie Hughes +9000
Harold Varner +9000
Adam Hadwin +10000
Aaron Rai +10000
Sahith Theegala +10000
Francesco Molinari +10000
Robert MacIntyre +10000
Carlos Ortiz +12500
Matt Kuchar +12500
Martin Laird +12500
Ryan Palmer +12500
Jhonattan Vegas +12500
Keegan Bradley +12500
Matt Jones +15000
Pat Perez +15000
Sebastian Munoz +15000
Rickie Fowler +15000
Min Woo Lee +15000
Joel Dahmen +15000
Cameron Young +15000
Andrew Putnam +15000
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +15000
Patton Kizzire +15000
Troy Merritt +15000
Aaron Wise +15000
Russell Knox +15000
Cam Davis +15000
Taylor Moore +17500
Cameron Champ +20000
Scott Stallings +20000
James Hahn +20000
Mito Pereira +20000
Wyndham Clark +20000
Charley Hoffman +20000
Patrick Rodgers +20000
Doug Ghim +20000
Branden Grace +20000
Taylor Pendrith +20000
Charl Schwartzel +25000
J.J. Spaun +25000
Chez Reavie +25000
Beau Hossler +25000
J.T. Poston +25000
Matt Wallace +25000
Matthew NeSmith +25000
Doc Redman +30000
Emiliano Grillo +30000
Brendan Steele +30000
David Lipsky +30000
Sepp Straka +30000
Dylan Frittelli +30000
