{"id":16658,"date":"2026-02-17T19:12:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/?post_type=article&p=16658"},"modified":"2026-02-17T19:12:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:12:54","slug":"2026-genesis-invitational-noonans-outright-picks-and-preview","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/article\/2026-genesis-invitational-noonans-outright-picks-and-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Genesis Invitational – Noonan\u2019s Outright Picks and Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week, the PGA Tour makes its last stop on its west coast swing, returning to the Pacific Palisades and Riviera Country Club for the Genesis Invitational. Last year’s tragic wildfires in Southern California forced the PGA Tour to move the event to Torrey Pines’ South Course, so keep that in mind if you’re looking at any 2025 Genesis Invitational data. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s worth noting that Riviera, which will host the 2028 Olympic Games golf competition, and Torrey Pines are the only courses on Tour that feature poa annua greens and kikuyu grass fairways and rough, making Torrey a strong corollary course when capping this week. The poa\/kikuyu combination is native to both southern California and Australia, and past leaderboards at Riviera have been littered with golfers who call either place home. There’s also a notable leaderboard crossover between Riviera and Augusta National, which makes sense considering the commonalities around elevation changes and the two-way shot-shaping skills required to win at both places.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like last week at Pebble Beach, we have another Signature Event field, but this is one of three Signature Events that will maintain a 36-hole cut. After 36 holes, the top 50 and ties, and every player within 10 strokes of the 36-hole lead, will play on the weekend. With a field of just 72 qualifiers, missing the cut will take an abysmal performance, unless someone runs out to a big lead after Round 2.<\/span><\/p>\n

Riviera is a classic course that tests a golfer’s all-around game. It’s a venue that most Tour pros rave about, and it’s one where familiarity with the course, particularly its fast and firm greens, is crucial. As Ron highlighted in his course preview, 17 of the last 19 winners had played in at least four previous events at Riviera. <\/span><\/p>\n

A successful week at this nearly 7,400-yard Par-71 will involve scoring on the Par-5s and surviving the Par-4s whenever possible. This field was forced to be dialed in with their wedges last week at Pebble Beach, but the demands of Riviera are quite different. Roughly 75% of approach shots come from 150+ yards, with 47% coming between 150-200. Both are among the highest percentages on Tour. Even though the greens are huge <\/span>in size<\/span>, the GIR rate is only 56.4%.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For more course details, check out <\/span>Ron’s<\/span><\/a> course preview<\/span><\/a>. It’s the best in the business, bar none. Also, don’t forget to check out our research tools, the <\/span>Riviera course stats<\/span><\/a>, along with the <\/span>Tournament Cheat Sheet.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Podcast: <\/span>Apple<\/span><\/a> | <\/span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

YouTube: <\/span>Betsperts Golf<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

Key <\/span>Rabbit Hole<\/span><\/a> Stats This Week:<\/span><\/h3>\n