Genesis Invitational Preview 2020

Genesis Invitational Preview 2020

Follow the link for past Genesis Invitational winners.

• Dates: February 10-16, 2020 Where: Pacific Palisades, California
• Course: The Riviera Country Club
• Par/Yards: 35-36—71/7,322
• Field: 120
• Defending champion: J.B. Holmes
• Purse: $9,300,000/$1,674,000
• FedExCup points: 500 to the winner
• Format: 72-hole stroke play

Genesis Invitational Preview

• The Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods, enters its first year as an invitational; the tournament joins two other PGA TOUR events with elevated status – Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide; each of these events offer a larger purse, $9.3 million, and a three-year PGA TOUR exemption for the winner (2022-23)
• Tiger Woods makes second attempt at record-breaking 83^rd career PGA TOUR victory; The Genesis Invitational is one of two tournaments where Woods has made double-digit starts without a win
• Nine of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking are in the field, marking the most for a 500-point FedExCup event since the 2007 Wells Fargo Championship; Rory McIlroy surpassed Brooks Koepka for the No. 1 spot on Monday
• Nine of the top 10 in the FedExCup are in the field, led by Justin Thomas who has been on top for six weeks this season
• Brooks Koepka makes his first start on the PGA TOUR since the fall
• 2020 Genesis Invitational winner Steve Stricker makes his 500^th career start on the PGA TOUR; he is grouped with tournament host Tiger Woods and FedExCup leader Justin Thomas for the first two rounds
• The Genesis Invitational, first played in 1926, is the seventh-oldest active tournament on the PGA TOUR

Notes On the Genesis Invitational Field

• 24 of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings, led by Justin Thomas
• Nine out of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, led by Rory McIlroy (1), Brooks Koepka (2), Jon Rahm (3), Justin Thomas (4), Dustin Johnson (5) and Patrick Cantlay (6)
• Field includes all but one winner from the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season: Webb Simpson (Waste Management Phoenix Open)
• 19 major championship winners combining for 46 major victories, led by Tiger Woods (15)
• 10 past champions of The Genesis Invitational: J.B. Holmes (2019), Bubba Watson (2018, 2016, 2014), Dustin Johnson (2017), James Hahn (2015), Aaron Baddeley (2011), Steve Stricker (2010), Phil Mickelson (2009, 2008), Charles Howell III (2007), Rory Sabbatini (2006), Adam Scott (2005/unofficial win)

FedExCup and The Genesis Invitational

• 18th event in the 2019-20 FedExCup season
• Five players moved inside the top 125 following the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Joseph Bramlett, Chez Reavie,Tim Wilkinson
• Nine of the 13 winners of The Genesis Invitational in the FedExCup era have advanced to the season-ending TOUR Championship: Charles Howell III (2007), Phil Mickelson (2008 and 2009), Steve Stricker (2010), Aaron Baddeley (2011), Bubba Watson (2014, 2016, 2018) and Dustin Johnson (2017)
• Six FedExCup champions in the field: Rory McIlroy (2019, 2016), Justin Rose (2018), Justin Thomas (2017), Jordan Spieth (2015), Jim Furyk (2010), Tiger Woods (2009, 2007)

Current FedExCup standings

The top 10 in the FedExCup at the conclusion of the PGA TOUR Regular Season will be recognized through the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 program

Position	Player	Points	Wins	Top-10s	Points Behind	Starts	Projected Bonus
1	Justin Thomas	1,307	2	4	—	6	$2 million
2	Webb Simpson	1,078	1	4	229	4	$1.5 million
3	Brendon Todd	1,041	2	3	266	11	$1.2 million
4	Lanto Griffin	965	1	3	342	13	$1.1 million
5	Sebastian Munoz	914	1	3	393	12	$1 million
6	Rory McIlroy	875	1	3	432	3	$850,000
7	Cameron Smith	744	1	2	563	8	$700,000
8	Sungjae Im	740	0	3	567	10	$600,000
9	Marc Leishman	734	1	2	573	6	$550,000
10	Kevin Na	729	1	1	578	9	$500,000

A look back at the 2019 Genesis Invitational

Pos	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	J.B. Holmes	63	69	68	70	270 (-14)
2	Justin Thomas	66	65	65	75	271 (-13)
3	Si Woo Kim	68	70	68	66	272 (-12)
T4	Marc Leishman	69	69	67	68	273 (-11)
T4	Rory McIlroy	72	63	69	69	273 (-11)

• J.B. Holmes earned his fifth PGA TOUR title in his 301st start on TOUR at the 2019 Genesis Invitational
• Seeks to become the first back-to-back winner of The Genesis Invitational since Phil Mickelson in 2008 and 2009

Notable Players

Tiger Woods

• Second attempt at record-breaking 83^rd PGA TOUR victory; Won 82^nd TOUR title at the 2019 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan
• The Genesis Invitational is one of two tournaments where Woods has made double-digit appearances and failed to collect a victory (13 starts/The Genesis Invitational, 10 starts/THE NORTHERN TRUST)
• Tied with Phil Mickelson for most wins in California since 1983 (14)
• Made his TOUR debut at 1992 The Genesis Invitational, missing the cut as a 16-year-old amateur
• In 13 starts at this event, owns four top-10s, highlighted by runner-up results in 1998 (solo-second) and 1999 (T2)
• A top-10 finish by Woods would mark his 200th on the PGA TOUR; seeks to become the 11th player in PGA TOUR history to record 200 or more top-10 finishes

PLAYER	# Top-10s	Top-10 %
Ben Hogan	229	76.30
Byron Nelson	206	71.80
Lloyd Mangrum	218	58.40
Sam Snead	330	56.40
Tiger Woods	199	55.27
Jack Nicklaus	286	48.10
Billy Casper	236	40.40
Tom Watson	219	35.40
Arnold Palmer	245	33.40
Gene Littler	213	32.90
Tom Kite	209	29.30

Rory McIlroy

• Two-time FedExCup champion finished T20 in first two appearances at The Genesis Invitational (2016, 2018) before notching T4 in 2019, which included a second-round 63
• Owns most PGA TOUR wins (18) by players currently under 35 – Jason Day (12), Justin Thomas (12), Jordan Spieth (11)

Brooks Koepka

• World No. 2 makes second appearance at The Genesis Invitational after posting 75-72 en route to missing the cut in 2017
• Four-time major champion makes third PGA TOUR start this season after missing the cut at 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and withdrawing from 2019 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES with a knee injury after the second round

Jon Rahm

• World No. 3 makes second appearance at The Genesis Invitational after T9 in his tournament debut in 2019
• Posted top-10s, including two wins, in his six most recent starts worldwide (T9/2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 2^nd/2020 Farmers Insurance Open, 10^th/2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions, 2^nd/2019 Hero World Challenge/*unofficial event, 1^st/2019 DP World Tour Championship Dubai, 1^st/2019 Mutuactivos Open de Espana)

Justin Thomas

• Current FedExCup leader seeks third victory this season after posting four top-five finishes in six starts, including two wins (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Sentry Tournament of Champions)
• At the 2019 Genesis Invitational, held four-stroke lead through three rounds while tying the 54-hole tournament record (196); shot final-round 75 to finish runner-up, the first time in his career he did not convert a 54-hole lead/co-lead to victory
• 2017 FedExCup champion owns five career starts at The Genesis Invitational with back-to-back top-10s in his last two appearances (2^nd/2019, T9/2018, T39/2017, T54/2016, T41/2015)

Dustin Johnson

• His win at 2017 The Genesis Invitational, one of eight top-10s in 12 starts in the event, was his 13^th PGA TOUR title
• Seeks his first PGA TOUR victory since the 2019 WGC-Mexico Championship
• Owns 15 rounds of 67 or better in the event since 2008, five more than the next best player in that span

Joseph Bramlett earns Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption

• 31-year-old former Stanford golfer was also recipient of this exemption in 2011 (MC/75-74), which is focused on “representing the advancement of diversity in the game of golf”, the first player to receive it twice; Past recipients include Harold Varner III (2014), J.J. Spaun (2016) and Cameron Champ (2018)
• Earned PGA TOUR membership for 2019-20 (his first season since 2011) by finishing No. 22 in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals 25 and entered the 2019-20 season 45th in the final priority ranking
• Best finish on TOUR this season is T14 at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier
• Suffered an annular tear to his L4 and L5 discs in 2013 and made just three starts on PGA TOUR in the next four years

Miscellaneous Notes

• Nick Taylor notched his second PGA TOUR win at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the first player to win the event in wire-to-wire fashion since 2005;
• 44-time PGA TOUR winner Phil Mickelson comes into the week following a third-place finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro- Am; With the top-10 result last week, became the third player in PGA TOUR history with at least one top-10 in 30 consecutive seasons (Sam Snead/34, Raymond Floyd/32); One of three players to have won more than $3 million in prize money at The Genesis Invitational (Bubba Watson/$4,236,883, Dustin Johnson/$3,991,015, Phil Mickelson/$3,879,843)
• Bubba Watson’s 2018 victory was his third at The Genesis Invitational (2014, 2016, 2018), joining Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer as three-time winners of this event. Only MacDonald Smith and Lloyd Mangrum, with four wins each, have more; Posted top-10 results in both starts in 2020 (T6/Farmers Insurance Open, T3/Waste Management Phoenix Open)
• Sergio Garcia seeks his first PGA TOUR title since winning the 2017 Masters Tournament; Posted three top-10s in 12 appearances at The Genesis Invitational (T4/2015, T4/2012, 6^th/2007)
• Matt Kuchar has made 12 cuts in 13 appearances at The Genesis Invitational with T8 in 2016 his lone top-10
• Sponsor exemption Erik van Rooyen, from South Africa, makes ninth PGA TOUR appearance, making the cut in each of the first eight, including top-20 results in three majors (T17/2018 The Open, T8/2019 PGA Championship, T20/2019 The Open)
• 37-year-old Korean Kyongjun Moon makes second PGA TOUR start; Posted a T46 in his lone PGA TOUR start at 2019 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES
• Jordan Spieth, who has two top-10s this seasons, comes off a final-round 67 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his first final round in the 60s this season
• Patrick Cantlay, who missed the cut in his first two appearances at The Genesis Invitational (2012, 2013), finished T4 in 2018 after sharing the 18- and 36-hole leads; Posted a T15 in the 2019 tournament
• Sean Yu, a San Jose State University senior and native of Chinese Taipei, won Monday’s Collegiate Showcase with a 1-under 70 to earn an exemption into The Genesis Invitational, his PGA TOUR debut

TGR Foundation

The TGR Foundation serves as the host organization of The Genesis Invitational and is the primary beneficiary of proceeds for the week. The nearby TGR Learning Lab was founded in Anaheim in 2006 and impacts thousands of children each year in STEM education. To date, the TGR Learning Lab has served more than 165,000 students and they have introduced 85,000 girls to STEM careers and reached 1,000 educators annually, bringing them professional development programs in STEM

Hole-in-One: Title sponsor Genesis, a global luxury automotive brand, will offer several on-course activations throughout the tournament rounds:

• No. 14: The player with the first hole-in-one each day on hole No. 14 will win the first-ever SUV from Genesis, the GV80. The caddie will receive a G70.
• No. 16: The player with the first hole-in-one each day on hole No. 16 will win a Genesis G70. The caddie will also receive a G70. The winner of The Genesis Invitational will receive an all-new 2021 GV80, the first-ever SUV from Genesis.

Aon Risk Reward Challenge – The Riviera Country Club (par-4, 10th)

The Aon Risk Reward Challenge is a unique, season-long competition on the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour that highlights golf’s best strategic decision makers. The top player, from each Tour, at the end of the season will receive an equal $1 million prize. Brooks Koepka and Carlota Ciganda won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge in 2019. For more information: https://www.pgatour.com/aon-risk- reward-challenge.html

Tournament records and history

• 18-hole score: 61 (George Archer/R3/1983, Ted Tryba/R3/1999)
• 72-hole score: 264 (Lanny Wadkins/1985)
• Largest margin of victory: 9 (Phil Rodgers/1962)
• Best come-from-behind win: 8 (Ken Venturi/1959)
• Playoffs: 17 (most recent: 2015/James Hahn def. Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson)
• Holes-in-one since 1983: 39 (most recent: J.B Holmes/R1/2019)

via PGA TOUR