The First Look: The Genesis Invitational

Current FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama along with the rest of the top 10 players in the world are set to tee it up at the storied Riviera Country Club for this season’s Genesis Invitational.

Max Homa looks to defend his hometown title after a dramatic playoff victory over Tony Finau a year ago.

COURSE: The Riviera Country Club, par 71, 7,322 yards. This is the 59th time the George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell design will host the Genesis Invitational. It has hosted three major championships in the past, was just announced as the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open venue and will also host the 2028 Olympic golf competition. The club has been long ranked as one of the best in the world. It features a compact design with primary rough of club-grabbing Kikuyu – making it a challenge for the best players in the world with every club in the bag.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 550 FedExCup points.

STORYLINES: Can another California kid take the title at Riviera this week? While Max Homa topped the field last season, there’s no doubt world No. 2 Collin Morikawa would like to etch his name on the trophy … Dustin Johnson looks to break out of an early-season funk at Riviera, where he won in 2017. Johnson hasn’t notched a top-10 result on TOUR since the TOUR Championship in September … There’s still a spot to be filled for the Genesis Invitational, which comes after the Collegiate Showcase on Monday. The Collegiate Showcase is now in its eighth year. Past winners include Will Zalatoris, Scottie Scheffler (PGA TOUR Rookies of the Year, both) and Sahith Theegala, who led after 36 holes in Phoenix … This is the final event of the TOUR’s West Coast Swing before it heads to Florida next week … With Tony Finau’s playoff loss a year ago, he has now finished runner-up at the Genesis Invitational twice … The event was played without fans in 2021 but tournament organizers are set to have a full spectator experience for this season ... This is the first event of the 2022 season to offer 550 FedExCup points to the winner.

72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Lanny Wadkins (1985).

18-HOLE RECORD: 61, George Archer (Round 3, 1983 at Rancho Park GC), Ted Tryba (Round 3, 1999 at Riviera CC).

LAST TIME: Max Homa won for the second time on the PGA TOUR, defeating Tony Finau in a playoff. Homa overcame a tough lip-out on the 72nd hole to regroup in the playoff. He made a par on the second playoff hole, the par-3 14th, to Finau’s bogey after he couldn’t get up-and-down from the sand. That par-saver came after Homa’s tee shot on the first extra hole nestled against a tree and forced him to punch out a wedge with a miraculous recovery effort. This was Finau’s 10th runner-up finish on TOUR since his maiden TOUR victory at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open (he would, however, go on to win THE NORTHERN TRUST later in 2021). Homa’s victory was a hometown-boy-done-good story, as he first attended the annual event at Riviera when he was just a 2-year-old. Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, finished one shot back of Homa and Finau after three bogeys in four holes on the back nine. Burns was third alone. Cameron Smith finished fourth alone, while Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Matthew Fitzpatrick rounded out the top five.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS)

Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2–8 p.m. ET. Saturday, 2–7 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)

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