What a performance from Daniel Berger at Pebble Beach last weekend. What we saw is exactly why you have to take this sports week to week and not hold grudges against players. He looked awful two weeks ago at the Waste Management but looked like a premiere golfer on the PGA Tour this past week. I also just knew that since I burned him in my one-and-done the week before, that he would come out striping the ball at Pebble, just my luck.
I think last week was also a good lesson for people who ask about picking golfers according to their tee times based around the weather. That is a good strategy sometimes but it can also bite you in the butt. I feel like if you are mass multi-entering tournaments, yes you have the ability to put lineups in according to weather but when you have less than five, you should play the best six guys in your mind and see how it turns out.
The Genesis Invitational has been known by other title sponsors but there's only one word you need to know this weekend, Riviera. The tournament is played at the prestigious Riviera Golf and Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. The course is a par 71 and it measures out 7,322 yards with poa annua greens. The winning scores at Riviera have ranged from 7 under par to 19 under par and it all comes down to the final two Par 5’s.
The big bombers have an advantage because they can reach both of those par 5’s in two and go low. This does not mean that the shorter course managers can’t have success on this track either. The fairways are very narrow which makes it harder on the bombers to keep it in the short grass. That's where the more accurate players can take advantage. One of the most important stats this weekend will be rough proximity. This number tells you how good the player is at getting themselves from the rough on the green close to the hole. When you look at course comparisons, Augusta National comes up a lot. The biggest similarity is that both courses favor the left handed player. Only Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Mike Wier have won both the Masters and at Riviera, and what do those players have in common? They're lefties! The greens on this course are also on the smaller size compared to other PGA Tour tracks.
This this an Invitational which has given this event a truly stacked field which could rival even the Masters. You've got eight of the Top 10 golfers in the most current World Golf Rankings taking part this weekend. Only Tyrrell Hatton and Webb Simpson are not participating. We will get our first look at Bryson DeChambeau since his seventh place finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Tiger Woods remains out as he continues to rehab from his back surgery. When you've got such a terrific field, it makes narrowing down your personal pool of players to use even more difficult. If you are mass entering, go ahead and try to mix up those Top 8 players as best you can but if you are not that type of player, you have to stand your ground on a few select golfers. I tried to avoid the chalky plays as much as possible with a few exceptions like Bubba Watson. I do love the 7K range this week, lots of value to help you make a nice balanced lineup across the board. I'm just glad to be focusing on one course instead of two or three this weekend.
The weather should be a non-factor this weekend as the forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60s. There is no signs of rain at all but the winds could get into the low teens.
GOOD LUCK!
ONE & DONE PLAY OF THE WEEK: Viktor Hovland
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