Deja Vu.
As Los Angeles and the surrounding areas are enduring and recovering from wildfires, the PGA Tour has opted to relocate this week’s Genesis Invitational from Riviera Country Club to Torrey Pines.
We were just at Torrey Pines three weeks ago for the Farmers Insurance Open where Harris English won for the first time on Tour since 2021.
Now, a golf course hosting two events in the same season isn’t anything out of the ordinary. If we look back to 2021, this exact golf course hosted the Farmers Insurance and the U.S. Open in the same season. However, of recent memory, this is the closest in time that a golf course has hosted two separate events.
This event is the third Signature Event of the season and the second full-field Signature Event, following the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am just two weeks back.
Tiger Woods, who has served as the host of this event since 2020 when the event changes from an open to its now invitational tag, was slated to tee it up but announced on Monday that he will not. The introduction of both the rebranding to a invitational and the welcoming of Woods as its host has given this already prestigious event a facelift.
This is actually where Woods made his professional debut in 1992 and although we can list the endless accolades of his career, winning at Riviera Country Club is not one of them.
The Field
As this week marks the third Signature Event of the season, the field is what we can expect.
Headlined by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, all of the Tour’s biggest names will be in attendance.
Except for San Diego native Xander Schauffele who continues to recover from a rib injury. Schauffele has not played since The Sentry Tournament of Champions to start the season.
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner Rory McIlroy returns to action following his dominating victory at the last Signature Event two weeks ago.
Other notable names teeing it up this week include Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Patrick Cantlay.
Matsuyama is the defending champion of this event, although at Riviera. Matsuyama had one of the best back-nines of modern memory to come from behind and ultimately win the event by three over the likes of Will Zalatoris and Luke List.
Please note, there is a cut this week, as there will be in each of the three “player hosted” Signature Events (Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament.) The cut will include the top 50-golfers or those within ten strokes of the leader after the second round.
The Course
The South Course at Torrey Pines annually plays as one of the longest courses on the PGA Tour, playing as a par 72 at roughly 7,785 yards.
Being one of the most storied championship golf courses in the United States, Torrey Pines South offers a major-like feel to it which will be a welcome sight after seeing the birdie-fests to kick off this 2025 PGA Tour Season.
Off-the-tee, driving distance will of course be a factor with the length this course offers. Bombers will be encouraged to swing away to set up their second shots routinely across all four rounds.
However, the fairways here at the South Course are narrow and with the combination of golfers opting for driver due to its length, The South Course offers one of the highest missed fairway percentages on Tour.
Due to the course’s length, approach shots from 200-plus yards will be of the norm this week.
The greens featured this week are Pao greens. They’re both firm and small and due to this, the South Course also features one of the lowest greens in regulation percentages of the PGA Tour as well. This is also attributed to the long approach shots golfers will be taking into the greens.
Golfers will be forced to work around-the-greens often due to this and will need to bring their A-game in the scrambling department if they hope to claim victory.
These pao greens are also some of the most difficult greens to putt on each season as it is a grass type not often seen on Tour.
The South Course features a multitude of par fours that play over 450-yards. Golfers will need to take advantage of the par-fours this week however and get comfortable grinding out the par threes and par fives.
The Weather
As of the time of writing this, we can expect some wet conditions to begin the week. Currently, forecasts are calling for a 90-percent chance of precipitation on Thursday and a 60-percent chance on Friday. Even leading into this week, Wednesday calls for a 90-percent chance of precipitation as well. Saturday calls for just a ten-percent chance and Sunday a zero-percent chance of precipitation. Temperatures will begin at the lowest at 62-degrees on Thursday before slowly increasing to 66-degrees come Sunday. Winds are set for 13 miles-per-hour for both Thursday and Friday. Winds will settle to eight miles-per-hour across the weekend. In all, those who can manage the weather through the first two rounds will set themselves up for the weekend.
Key Stats
Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)
Average Driving Distance
Proximity to the Hole from 200-plus Yards
Hit Fairway Percentage
Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)
Scrambling
Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: PUTT)
Par Four Scoring Average
Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)
Par Five Scoring Average
DFS Suggestions
$10,000+
I’ve been saying this for well over a year now, but a victory for Collin Morikawa ($10,000) has to come sooner-rather-than-later - or so I hope. Per my stats based model, he is my overall favorite to win this week. He’s currently first on Tour in both GIR% and par four average scoring, second in hit fairway percentage, third in SG: APP, 13th in scrambling, 15th in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 17th in par five average scoring, 38th in SG: PUTT, 62nd in SG: ATG and 154th in average driving distance. In the two events he’s played so far this season, he’s placed second at The Sentry Tournament of Champions and 17th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The last time he played this course, although the Farmers Insurance in 2024, he missed the cut. However, he did place third here in 2023 and T4th at the U.S. Open played here in 2021. Morikawa is also on my betting card at +1400.
$9,000-$9,900
I was on Taylor Pendrith ($9,000) three weeks ago when the PGA Tour last played Torrey Pines so might as well return to him. In his last four appearances here he placed seventh this season, ninth in 2024, 60th in 2023 and 16th in 2022. In the four events he’s played so far this season he’s placed 13th at The Sentry Tournament of Champions, 45th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, seventh at the Farmers Insurance Open and ninth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. On Tour he is currently second in GIR%, sixth in par five average scoring, 26th in hit fairway percentage, 38th in SG: APP, 39th in average driving distance, 44th in par four average scoring, 49th in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 55th in SG: ATG, 91st in scrambling and 128th in SG: PUTT. Pendrith is also on my betting card at +5000. Also consider the defending champion, Hideki Matsuyama ($9,600.) Matsuyama has played this course seven times, dating back to 2020. He placed 32nd here earlier this season, 13th in 2024, ninth in 2023, 30th in 2022, 53rd in 2021 and 45th in 2020. He also placed 26th at the U.S. Open here in 2021. Matsuyama has already played five-of-six events to start the season. He won The Sentry Tournament of Champions, placed 16th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, 32nd at the Farmers Insurance Open, 48th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and 25th at the WM Phoenix Open. He is currently second on Tour in scrambling, tenth in SG: APP, 14th in both SG: ATG and par five average scoring, 39th in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 50th in par four average scoring, 51st in SG: PUTT, 109th in average driving distance, 117th in GIR% and 128th in hit fairway percentage.
$8,000-$8,900
This is often a price range I don’t enjoy in these types of fields but this week, I love it. First up we have Sepp Straka ($8,000.) Straka is currently third on Tour in GIR%, fifth in SG: APP, seventh in par four average scoring, eighth in par five average scoring, 11th in hit fairway percentage, 20th in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 29th in scrambling, 43rd in SG: PUTT, 112th in SG: ATG and 140th in average driving distance. Straka has played this course four times dating back to 2020. He missed the cut in both 2024 and 2020 but did place 16th in 2022 and 32nd in 2021. On the season, of golfers who have played at least three events to date, Straka has the best average finishing placement, and he’s played five events. He placed 15th at The Sentry Tournament of Champions, 30th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, he won The American Express, placed seventh at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and placed 15th at the WM Phoenix Open. Also consider Rasmus Hojgaard ($8,300.) Hojgaard is currently sixth on Tour in average driving distance, eighth in GIR%, 11th in par four average scoring, 24th in SG: APP, 37th in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 39th in par five average scoring, 47th in hit fairway percentage, 70th in SG: ATG, 74th in SG: PUTT and 168th in scrambling. The scrambling figure does scare me a lot, especially at this golf course, but the rest of his game is too good to ignore. On top of that, he will be making his debut at this golf course this week. On the season in the two events he played, he placed 22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and 12th at the WM Phoenix Open.
$7,000-$7,900
It took a lot for me to keep Min Woo Lee ($7,800) off the betting card this week, but I’m ready to roll him out in DFS. He’s played this course just once prior, placing 43rd in 2024. However, through his first two events of the season, he placed 17th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and 12th at the WM Phoenix Open. Lee is currently second on Tour in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, third in average driving distance, fourth in SG: ATG, seventh in both scrambling and par four average scoring, 51st in par five average scoring, 54th in GIR%, 65th in SG: APP, 109th in SG: PUTT and 135th in hit fairway percentage. He’ll have to tone it down a bit this week to find more fairways. Also consider Adam Scott ($7,500.) Scott placed tenth here in 2021 at the Farmers Insurance Open but also placed 35th at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. On the season, he placed 15th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and 22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He did play the Dubai Desert Classic in between those two events where he placed T37th as well. Scott is currently fifth on Tour in par five average scoring, eighth in GIR%, 14th in par four average scoring, 22nd in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 23rd in SG: APP, 59th in SG: ATG, 70th in hit fairway percentage, 106th in SG: PUTT, 160th in scrambling and 166th in average driving distance.
$6,900-
I was last on Cam Davis ($6,800) at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he put up a quality performance, finishing fifth. He also placed 18th at The American Express and 13th at The Sentry Tournament of Champions. He is currently third on Tour in par five average scoring, ninth in SG: ATG, 15th in GIR%, 25th in SG: APP, 30th in both proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards and SG: PUTT, 35th in par four average scoring, 69th in scrambling, 100th in hit fairway percentage and 126th in average driving distance. He doesn’t have the best course history here, playing this event four times since 2020, missing the cut in 2023 in his last appearance and having a best finish of 32nd in 2021. Davis is also on my betting card at +15000. Also consider Gary Woodland ($6,600.) Woodland has been solid to start his 2025 season. He placed 16th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, 22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and 21st at the WM Phoenix Open. His course history isn’t great here however, playing this course six times since 2020. In those six events he missed the cut twice and his best finish was a 39th in 2022. Woodland is currently second on Tour in average driving distance, ninth in proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 14th in par four average scoring, 17th in GIR%, 30th in SG: APP, 52nd in hit fairway percentage, 75th in scrambling, 89th in SG: PUTT, 100th in SG: ATG and 101st in par five average scoring.
Betting Card
Colin Morikawa (+1400)
Taylor Pendrith (+5000)
Keegan Bradley (+6500)
Cam Davis (+15000)
Keegan Bradley (+6500)
Just as I was on Pendrith a few weeks back when we last saw this golf course, I was also on Bradley. On the season, Bradley has placed 15th at The Sentry Tournament of Champions, sixth at the Sony Open in Hawaii, 15th at the Farmers Insurance Open and 65th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Dating back to 2020, Bradley has played this golf course five times. He placed 15th this season, 43rd in 2024, second in 2023, 65th in 2022 and 16th in 2020. He is currently 11th on Tour in par four average scoring, 42nd in hit fairway percentage, 67th in both SG: PUTT and par five average scoring, 88th in both SG: APP and proximity to the hole from 200-plus yards, 91st in average driving distance, 92nd in SG: ATG, 101st in GIR% and 103rd in scrambling.