The final event of the PGA Tour's West Coast Swing takes place at Riviera Country Club, California, this week where all eyes will be on 15-time Major champion Tiger Woods as he makes his return to action in the Genesis Invitational.
Woods, last spotted finishing 18th of 20 runners in the Hero World Challenge in December, is also playing an ambassadorial role at Riviera this week as his foundation hosts the Genesis, and he will hope he's fit enough to do himself justice on the course in one of the few events he hasn't won.
Scottie Scheffler, third at the Phoenix Open last week, is the one to beat despite his well-documented putting problems. He's the favourite for this 70-man, $20million Signature Event.
Riviera first hosted this tournament in 1929 and has been the permanent venue since 1973 (with the exception of the 1983 and 1998 editions). Known to favour players who hit a stock left-to-right fade, the course provides one of the toughest tee-to-green examinations on the PGA Tour.
- Justin Thomas to win
- Collin Morikawa to win
- Adam Scott to win
Back-To-Form Thomas Ready For Riviera
After a dismal 2023 campaign by his ultra-high standards, Justin Thomas has rediscovered top form and it appears to be only a matter of time before the Kentucky man breaks through again on the PGA Tour.
Thomas began the season with a third-place finish in the American Express, then he finished sixth at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, both of which took place in California, before finishing 12th at last week's Phoenix Open.
While he would've been disappointed not to mount a serious weekend challenge at TPC Scottsdale, that performance marked another step in the right direction and this week Thomas tees it up at a venue which suits him well.
Experience counts for plenty at Riviera, as Thomas proved when he finished ninth in Los Angeles on his fourth start at the course in 2018, then held the 54-hole lead before finishing second to JB Holmes the following season. He has finished sixth and 20th in his last two visits to 'The Riv'.
Morikawa To Shine Again
Los Angeles native Collin Morikawa has served his Riviera apprenticeship, finishing 26th and 43rd in his first two Genesis appearances before demonstrating his suitability for this tee-to-green test when runner-up in 2022 and sixth last season.
Morikawa won the first of his two Major titles in California at the 2020 US PGA Championship and he tees it up at Riviera for a fifth time in excellent form having finished fifth at The Sentry and 14th at Pebble Beach either side of an excusable missed cut at a rain-soaked Farmers Insurance Open.
Local favourite Morikawa
Scott Primed For A Third Title
There have been six repeat champions at Riviera since 1992 including Adam Scott, who triumphed in 2005 and 2020, and the former world no.1 can roll back the years to claim this title for the third time.
Scott is not the ball-striking force of old but the Australian has been in superb nick in recent months, finishing in the top eight in five of his last six tournaments, including last week when he struck his irons superbly when finishing eighth in Phoenix.
