After a one season hiatus due to the California Wildfires, we head back to Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California for the 2026 Genesis Invitational. 72 players will tee it up this week as the 2nd signature event of the season gets underway. This week we will see the field competing for their share of $20,000,000 and 700 FedEx Cup points. As always, when looking at your lineups, make sure to take advantage of our PGA DFS Projections, PGA DFS Ownership, and PGA DFS Lineup Optimizer to get every advantage you can.

Genesis Invitational 2026: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

The Genesis Invitational has been a mainstay on tour, having debuted in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. A few name changes later, and we have the current iteration, typically hosted by Tiger Woods. The elevated signature event status of this venue means this is one of the stronger fields we will see all season, and this event is a favorite of many players. Funny enough, Tiger hosts this event, yet never won on this course. Given the invitational status of this event, we will see a cut this week (in contrast to other signature events) where the top 50 plus ties AND anyone within 10 strokes of the leader will make it to the weekend.

Riviera Country Club: Course Breakdown This Week

Riviera is your favorite players favorite course. This is one of the truest tests of players on tour, and it is a course that rewards the true best player of the week every single year. Play as a Par 71 at just over 7,300 yards, this course has been a fixture on tour since 1973. It's also celebrating it's 100th anniversary this year, so the festivities will not disappoint.

Riviera is known for it's narrow fairways, tight dog legs, unpredictable kikuyu grass rough, and fast, undulating greens. Consistently mentioned as some of the best golf architecture year over year, there is not a single hole that players get to take off. Each hole presents unique challenges, and will require precision throughout to stay in contention. This course consistently plays over par on average for the week, and is one of the 15 toughest courses on tour. Weather will impact this as well, as the winds can get rough out there, but at the time of writing there is little rain or wind in the forecast.

Riviera often sees some of the lowest driving accuracy numbers, where it has either been the lowest or second lowest every season since 2015. Though the greens are some of the largest on tour at just over 7,500 square feet on average, this event also sees the lowest GIR rate yearly at just over 50 percent. It does all of this without any gimmicks, rather just challenging players through hole design and the need to play strategic golf. It's also one of the most predictive courses on tour, behind Augusta and shares great correlation with Augusta as well, as there is a lot of carry over between the two courses. Players who tend to play well at Augusta, tend to play well here as well.

The par 3's offer unique distances, with the shortest at 166 yards, and the longest at a staggering 273 yards. The 11 par 4s rival even the longest courses on tour, with 7 of them playing over 450 yards. Lastly, the par 5's play either a hair over 500 yards, or just under 600. Many of the fairways get narrower the closer you get to the green, showing an increased need for Good Drives Gained, as players will need to be both accurate and long off the box.

With the layout of this course, we will see over 75% of approach shots come from 150 yards and out. This course is a shot-makers paradise as well. Coupling that with the difficulty in holding these greens, we will see a stark need for Scrambling success from players. It's also heavily bunkered, so Sand Save ability will come into play as well. Though we are familiar with Poa Annua greens, these will play significantly less bumpy than we saw last week at Pebble, and will play faster as well.

Par 5 scoring will be crucial, as the par 5s account of a birdie or better rate of 45%. The winner of this event often plays the par 5's at 8 to 10 strokes under par. Additionally, this course sees a lower rate of birdies or better, and higher rate of bogeys than the average PGA course, so avoiding big numbers will be huge this week, and the ability to take advantage when you set yourself up for success will be crucial.

 


Genesis Invitational 2026 Field: Golf DFS

The invitational and signature status of this event makes this one of the strongest fields we will see all year, and the strongest to date. Only 3 players in this field are outside the top 100 in the world, and that list include Max Homa, who has some of the best course history here via a win and 3 top 10 finishes. While Ludvig Aberg won this event in 2025, it was not at Riviera so it carries less weight. Past Homa, the only other previous Riviera winners in the field are Hideki Matsuyama and Adam Scott (who has won here twice). A strikingly large contingent of winners here now play on LIV, meaning that we will naturally see less of them in this iteration. That said, each winner thus far in 2026 will be in contention. 

This Week’s PGA DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator

To enhance your daily fantasy golf selections and secure optimal PGA DFS values, it's advisable to utilize our PGA DFS optimizer and lineup generator. This optimizer serves as a valuable resource for daily fantasy golf enthusiasts aiming to develop effective lineups!

It provides projections, updates on player injuries, and a range of analytical insights to facilitate the lineup-building process. Essentially, it functions as a strategic advantage for participants in daily fantasy golf and makes their own PGA DFS picks!

PGA Best Bets & Predictions: 2026 Genesis Invitational (3-7 Overall, +1.9 Units)

  • Patrick Cantlay Top 20 (+102)
  • Jake Knapp Top 10 (+325)
  • Genesis Invitational One and Done Picks
    • High End (Top 25 OWGR): 
      • Tommy Fleetwood
      • Chris Gotterup
      • Hideki Matsuyama
    • Low End:
      • Patrick Cantlay
      • Kurt Kitayama
      • Jake Knapp

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: TOP TIER

Rory McIlroy ($12,600 FanDuel/$11,300 DraftKings)

You'd be hard pressed to find a model this week where Scottie isn't number one, but Rory is right there with him at the top. Rory's history both here and at August show his upside, and Rory's iron play and driver are off to strong starts in 2026. His putting, bogey avoidance, and par 5 scoring are all top 10 in the field as well through his last 36 rounds. He shined on Sunday at Pebble, with his 8 under 64 bested only by Scottie. All factors point to a great week for Rory.

Tommy Fleetwood ($11,400 FanDuel/$10,300 DraftKings)

Fleetwood is in the midst of one of the best stretches of golf we've seen in his career. After his missed cut at the U.S. Open, he ended the 2025 PGA Tour season with 4 top 5 finishes, including a win at the TOUR Championship. He then continued playing on the DP World Tour, where he recorded a win, runner up, 3rd place, and multiple top 25 finishes. He then played himself into contention this past weekend at Pebble Beach. He presents a great value this week if you don't want to pay up for Scottie or Rory. 

Patrick Cantlay ($11,300 FanDuel/$9,300 DraftKings)

This is Cantlay's favorite course on tour, and he plays like it every time. He's recorded top 5 finishes in his last two starts here, and rarely finishes outside the top 18 here. He's green throughout the model, meaning he's field average or better in every stat. His irons and putter were strong at Pebble, and his driver has been consistent for him over the last year. There's no reason he can't rattle off another strong finish here.

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID-TIER

Cameron Young ($10,900 FanDuel/$9,100 DraftKings)

Cam Young is yet another player who just absolutely loves this venue. He's never finished outside the top 20 here, and while his recent form leaves a lot to be desired, it's been uncharacteristic struggles with the irons that have held him back. He's been both accurate and long with the driver, and his putter has been solid historically, so I'm still willing to take the chance on the history here and take some weight out of the recent floor.

Chris Gotterup ($10,700 FanDuel/$8,800 DraftKings)

Gotterup finally fell back to earth at Pebble after firing off a 64 to extend his insane run of first round scoring. His putter failed him, and has been his biggest weakness over the last 3 events, but Sony Open showed us how strong of a club it can be. If Gotterup can bounce back to form, his short game and ball-striking can carry him immediately back into contention.

Jake Knapp ($9,800 FanDuel/$8,600 DraftKings)

Knapp has been playing incredible golf of late, and I expect that to continue. In his 4 starts in 2026, he's yet to finish outside the top 12, is one of the best drivers of the golf-ball on the planet, and has been deadly with his putter. He ranks 3rd in Total Strokes Gained in 2026, 4th in scrambling from the rough and Par 5 Birdie or Better Percentage, and has the 2nd most eagles and 7th best scoring average this season. He's hitting a full blown breakout and this price doesn't reflect his upside.

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Ryo Hisatsune ($7,700 FanDuel/$6,800 DraftKings)

As one of the earliest analysts on Hisatsune this year, I'm not gonna stop any time soon. He's rattled off 3 top 10 finishes, has gained strokes with all clubs through the bag, and has been one of the best scorers in the field prior to the weekend. While he has faltered over the weekend, he has remained a top DFS option thus far and this price feels borderline disrespectful.

Max Homa ($8,000 FanDuel/$7,100 DraftKings)

I can't quit Max Homa. This week, I think I have a good reason. He's been one of the most underrated players at the Masters over his career, and one of the best players at Riviera, even when he's struggled everywhere else. Given the correlation between the two courses, that isn't surprising. He's won here, has 3 other top 5s, and has been a top 16 player here every year since 2020. Homa has yet to get great results in 2026, but it's clear his game is turning a corner and his outcomes just haven't matched the input. I'm betting on that to bounce back this week.

Max McGreevy ($6,600 FanDuel/$6,500 DraftKings)

McGreevy has quietly been plugging away this year. After missing the cut at the Sony Open, he's made 4 straight cuts and rattled off 3 top 30 finishes. He's shown great accuracy with both the irons and driver (top 30 in driving accuracy and GIR%), been great when he has missed greens (21st in scrambling), and though his putter has been a weakness thus far, he's putt well on Poa in his career, and his ball-striking is trending upward. At this price, he makes a lot of sense to plug in when building lineups around Scottie (who on DraftKings leaves you with a $7,100 average price).

 

PGA DFS Picks This Week (Cheat Sheet)

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