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.

FIELD NOTES: All of the world’s top-10 ranked players, including No. 1 Jon Rahm, are set to play at Riviera … Other than the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions, this is the first ‘Invitational’ event of the season with a limited field of just 120 players … Aaron Beverly is the 2022 recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption. Beverly was a celebrated college golfer, competes on the APGA Tour (where he won the Tour’s Fall Series Finale at Wilshire Country Club), and will be making his PGA TOUR debut … Reigning FedExCup winner Patrick Cantlay is back in action and riding some early-season momentum. Cantlay has gone fourth-ninth-T4 to start the 2022 calendar year, and contended throughout the week at the WM Phoenix Open … Some recent past Genesis Invitational winners set for a return include Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson and Max Homa – who is looking to become the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2008-09 to go back-to-back … Other sponsor's exemptions have an international flair. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Rickie Fowler, Min Woo Lee, Robert MacIntyre, Thomas Pieters and Jaekyeong Lee are playing. Jaekyeong Lee won the Genesis Championship in South Korea last fall.

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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