Sport
The Genesis Invitational preview: Time for Thomas to take out another title
If you thought the field at the Waste Management Phoenix Open was stacked, you should see the line-up assembled at Riviera for the Genesis Invitational! No less than all of the top 10 in the world rankings tee it up in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles showing the prestige this tournament is held in.
This is a big one, then, and here’s our preview…
Thomas surely close to another win
There’s plenty to suggest that Jon Rahm is ready to win again and the world number one is the rightful favourite this week at 9/1, while Patrick Cantlay showed again in Phoenix that he’s in the form of his life. It’s never easy to bounce back after coming so close, though, and he’s passed over at 12/1. Instead it’s the man who sits behind them in the betting, Justin Thomas, who gets the headline pick at 16/1.
It’s becoming somewhat of a broken record with Thomas, but he’s basically a good putting week away from winning, and in all honesty, winning easily. The American is hitting the ball as well as he ever has, ranking fifth this season in Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green, but the flat stick continues to let him down. He ranks a quite remarkable 175th in Stroke Gained: Putting and that trend continued last week in Phoenix. He once again hit the ball superbly ranking second in SG: Tee-To-Green, but, despite giving himself numerous chances, he failed to convert, time and time again losing 2.79 strokes on the greens. For context, the winner Scottie Scheffler gained 6.49 shots putting, so for Thomas to be beaten by just three shots despite losing over nine on the greens shows just how well Thomas is swinging at the moment. What’s perhaps even more encouraging for Thomas’ supporters this week is that he doesn’t even need to putt amazingly to really contend, he just needs to hole his fair share and perhaps there was a sign of that on Sunday where Thomas gained strokes on the greens – the first time he did that all week.
In terms of course form, Riviera has been somewhat of a feast or famine for Thomas. He begun with three low key finishes before really coming into his own in 2018 and 2019 where he finished ninth and second. That runners-up finish really should have been a win too as he was clear after three rounds before he shot a Sunday 75 to lose to JB Holmes by one. Curiously, he’s missed the cut here the last two years, but he was still coming to terms with the loss of his grandfather last year which was surely a huge distraction.
He hasn’t won since last year’s Players and this looks a very good opportunity to get back in the winner’s circle.
Could Hideki make it three for the season?
He might seem a fairly obvious pick given he’s won twice already this season and leads the FedEx Cup rankings, but Hideki Matsuyama and Riviera really do look a good fit. As mentioned, the reigning Masters champion is enjoying a fantastic season so far which has seen him make all eight cuts, finish inside the top 10 on four occasions and of course registering those two victories at the Zozo Championship and Sony Open. Recent form as strong as that is a case in itself, but the fact he heads to Riviera, a course he has excelled at, only boosts his credentials.
He’s played this tournament seven times, making the cut on five occasions with the worst finish among those being 23rd in 2015. He has three top 10s here, including two in the last three years, and that follows a pattern that when Hideki warms to a course, he tends to play well there time and time again, with Muirfield Village (a win and three top 10s from eight starts) and TPC Scottsdale (two wins and five top 10s from nine starts) being two prime examples.
And it’s not hard to see why the man from Japan has played well at Riviera as it’s a course that should really fit his eye. It’s a course where ball strikers excel and although every facet of one’s game is tested, you need to be dialled in with the irons – something Hideki, who ranks 11th for SG: Approach, is well renowned for. Like Thomas his putter is his major weakness, but as shown at the Sony when he putts well, he usually is there or thereabouts. He putted much better in Phoenix last week ranking 17th and if can continue to find the cups nicely, he should make hay here. He looks of serious interest at 25/1.
