LOS ANGELES – The Genesis Invitational is back at one of the cathedrals of American golf – The Riviera Country Club and it boasts an incredible field with innumerable storylines that could play out across the hallowed fairways.

Ahead of this week’s tournament, we compiled five of those subplots that will be particularly interesting to follow at Riviera this week. Here they are:

Can Scottie Scheffler contend?

Is this a stupid question? Possibly. In four days' time, it might look much worse. But on its premise, the question isn’t unfounded. Riviera remains one of the courses that Scheffler has yet to truly contend. In six tournaments at the course, Scheffler has never finished within six shots of the eventual winner. He’s finished in the top 10 twice, but was not relevant to the proceedings down the stretch.

Scheffler isn’t the only all-time great who hasn’t conquered Riviera. Among the players to never win here: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Rory McIlroy. Yet both Scheffler and McIlroy begin this week as favorites, because the course should suit them. McIlroy, to his credit, has finished runner-up here before.

Scheffler returns this year in better form than he’s ever come to this tournament before. He’s won already this season and has finished in the top four in eight straight tournaments. He currently holds the longest top-10 streak in the modern era with 18 consecutive events inside the top 10. That means something has to change. It seems most likely that Scheffler will contend, but if he doesn’t, maybe there’s still some magic at Riviera that Scheffler has yet to solve.

What impact will Riviera changes have?

Riviera is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season and it has held up as one of the crown jewels of American architecture since its inception, while many of the course’s contemporaries have been passed by because of technology.

That doesn’t mean the course is infallible. Hence, there are a pair of new changes to the course ahead of this year’s tournament, both designed to keep up with modern distance gains. The iconic par-3 fourth hole, which Ben Hogan once called “the greatest par 4 in America,” was lengthened by 37 yards. It now measures a burly 273 yards and will likely cause players to hit an extra club or two to combat the distance. The 18th hole was also lengthened by 24 yards, which will make it a difficult 499 yards up the hill to conclude the round.

The changes are proactive, as neither the fourth nor the 18th holes were easy the last time The Genesis Invitational was here in 2024. Both played over par for the week. The 18th was the fourth most difficult hole and the fourth was tied for the hardest, alongside the par-4 15th.

Can Collin Morikawa maintain his form?

A winner last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Collin Morikawa left little in doubt about what his goals are now. He wants to win multiple times, and he wants it to happen here.

“I would love to go and win at Riviera,” Morikawa said not even an hour after his final putt dropped at Pebble Beach.

“It's funny to say that considering a guy who hasn't won in a few years, but why not?” Morikawa continued. “It's not even shooting for the moon. Like I've done it before.”

It would be a boon for Morikawa and pro golf overall if he did. As Scheffler’s reign of dominance continues, the introduction of a new, weekly opponent is a tantalizing proposition. As of now, the only player who has sustained Scheffler-level play for any period of time is McIlroy. If that suddenly becomes a three-headed conversation with Morikawa, the week-in and week-out intrigue would skyrocket.

To do it, Morikawa will need to maintain the elite iron-play he flashed at Pebble Beach, something he’s more than capable of doing. He will also need to putt better, which he did over the weekend on route to his victory. Riviera is a comfortable venue for him. He’s finished runner-up before and has one other top 10. So maybe it isn’t as crazy as shooting for the moon?

Ideal turnaround for Max Homa?

Max Homa was a popular bounce-back candidate to begin this season for two reasons. First, positive regression seems plausible with six years of steady play that far outweigh the poor showing in 2025. And second, Homa brought back longtime swing coach Mark Blackburn, who was with Homa for most of those six years.

It’s too early to make any declarative statements, though the initial showing has not been as promising as Homa backers would have hoped. He has one top 30 in three events. Enter: Riviera.

Homa has stated Riviera is his favorite stop on TOUR, not just because he’s a Los Angeles kid who grew up attending the tournament, but because it’s proven to be one of Homa’s best course fits on the calendar. He won this event in 2021, was runner-up in 2023 and hasn’t finished worse than 16th since 2019. If a turnaround is coming soon, it should start at Riviera. And if he doesn’t play well this week, larger questions should be asked about Homa’s 2026 outlook.

Can J.J. Spaun stave off regression?

It’s going to be difficult for J.J. Spaun to replicate his 2025. That’s not a slight at the Californian, it’s just the reality for any player not named Scheffler or McIlroy. But he’s fully capable of playing better than he’s shown in the early part of this season.

In three starts, Spaun’s best finish is a T40 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open and finished 45th at Pebble Beach. In his latest start, he spoke to Golf Digest and acknowledged he’s struggled with his own expectations since his breakthrough U.S. Open victory.

“In a perfect world I want to say that I can go with the mindset of having nothing to lose and nothing to really to prove. But given the territory I'm in now, there's a lot of expectations,” Spaun told the publication.

In that context, Spaun must find a good result early in the season to avoid those expectations subsuming him. What would help? A better performance on the greens. Through three events, Spaun is 163rd in Strokes Gained: Putting, losing a stroke per round on average. That’s an unsustainable way to play golf. It’s also the most volatile. If Spaun can find his mojo on the greens again, that will elevate the rest of this game.