3 months agoAfter a rough start to the season in Hawaii, Ludvig Aberg has hit his stride in the States. If they play a fourth round at Pebble Beach, Aberg may get his second PGA Tour win at a Signature Event. Riviera rewards elite drivers and Aberg is one of the best in the field. No course history would be a concern for some young players but with Aberg's skills and veteran caddie Joe Skovron on his bag, Aberg is a threat to win once again this week.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoDespite poor form, Patrick Cantlay appeared to be a good play at Pebble Beach based purely on course history. Cantlay came out strong with a 64 but struggled with two rounds in the 70s after that. Some of that could be explained by the poor weather, but Cantlay continues to struggle this season. Riviera offers another event where Cantlay has a solid course history, but he's a risk and is priced among talented players in better form.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoIn two starts, Collin Morikawa hasn't been at his best since the PGA Tour made its way to California. After a week off, Morikawa is priced at $9,500 on DraftKings at a course where he has been great the past two years. Morikawa followed a runner-up finish in 2022 with a T6 last year and succeeded with his inconsistent putter in both starts. Morikawa could post another top 10 and contend this week with an improved short game and greens he enjoys.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoMax Homa has been busy to start 2024 but has seen mixed results. After a pair of top-15 finishes to start the season, Homa has struggled the past two weeks. Homa missed the cut at the Phoenix Open following a T66 at Pebble Beach. Homa's driver has been an issue during the last two events, but his putter has been a bigger problem to begin the season. Since 2020, Homa has been great at Riviera with four top-10 finishes, including a win and runner-up last year. Beyond all the storylines, Homa has performed well at the course so his putter should rebound.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoViktor Hovland is going through it to start the season. So far in 2024, Hovland has uncharacteristically struggled on approach and withdrew from the WM Phoenix Open field citing issues with his swing. That's particularly worrying after Hovland split with his coach this offseason but didn't reveal any details as to why. Hovland has two top-5 finishes at Genesis so a course he has a great history at could help something click, but $10,000 on DraftKings is a high price to pay for a player working on his swing.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoFantasy managers putting a heavy weight on course history this week will surely skip over Si Woo Kim. In his last three starts at Riviera Country Club, the South Korean star has two missed cut to go along with a 73rd place finish. But the year of the long shot has taught us that anything can happen, and Kim enters this year's tournament in excellent form. He's posted four top-25 finishes in his five starts this calendar year, including a T12 last week where he gained over six strokes from tee-to-green. Kim appears to be an excellent course fit as well, as he ranks 10th in strokes gained off-the-tee, 12th in approach play between 150-200 yards, and 21st in strokes gained around-the-green over the last 36 rounds. And although he's one of the worst putters in the field, he's certainly proven that random spike-putting weeks are in his repertoire. Fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised to see Kim in contention down the stretch at The Genesis this weekend.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoDenny McCarthy has been a steady contributor as of late for fantasy managers. The OWGR No. 43 has made the cut in all five of his starts this season with finishes of T5, T43, T24, T26, and T22. McCarthy likely would have been in line for an even better finish at last week's WM Phoenix Open had it not been for his disastrous putting in round four, where he lost 2.1 strokes on the greens. That was his worst putting round statistically since the CJ Cup back in October of 2022. He's a strong bounce-back candidate in that category this week, as Riviera boasts a lower-than-average greens-in-regulation rate and notoriously difficult, fast, undulating greens. Over the last 36 rounds, McCarthy enters the week ranking 22nd around-the-green, fourth in putting on fast greens, and seventh in overall and Poa annua putting. It would be fair for fantasy managers to expect a repeat of McCarthy's T14 finish here last year, which would more than pay off at his $7,500 DraftKings price tag.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoRickie Fowler gave golf fans a nice walk down memory lane during the 2023 season. The 35-year-old star flashed glimpses of his former self week-in and week-out, littering the leaderboard with top-20 finishes and even an outright victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. But Fowler has experienced a fall from grace in recent months, with his best finish in the 2024 calendar year being a T47 to go along with two missed cuts. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that he's lost an average of 6.2 strokes total in each of his previous seven events. Fowler's only saving grace may be the fact that he has two T20 finishes in his last three starts at this event, but fantasy managers shouldn't count on the difficult Riviera test being a spot for him to turn his game around.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoCorey Conners enjoyed a successful 2023 season and reminded everyone why he's still one of the best golfers in the world. Among a long list of highlights, the 32-year-old Canadian notched his second career victory at the Valero Texas Open and posted back-to-back top-10 finishes at the FedEx St. Jude and BMW Championships during the FedExCup Playoffs. But Conners has gotten off to a middling start to the 2024 season, having lost strokes in the short game in his first five starts with his no finish higher than T28. While he is one of the best ball-strikers in the field, his short game woes won't do him any favors at Riviera, where he's missed three cuts and finished 61st in his four career starts. Fantasy managers should seek golfers with higher upside in the $7,000-range on DraftKings this week.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoNick Taylor is likely to be a popular golfer this week following his emotional victory at the WM Phoenix Open. The 35-year-old Canadian picked up his fourth PGA Tour victory in dramatic fashion, coming back from a three-stroke deficit with four holes remaining to defeat Charlie Hoffman with an 11-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole. That tournament marked the fourth-straight event in which Taylor has gained strokes ball-striking and in the short game, and that has traditionally been the recipe for success at Riviera Country Club. He's also gained strokes in the short-game on this course in seven-straight starts, with his best finish being a T20 back in 2021. Fantasy managers have been accustomed to seeing back-to-back winners on the Tour in recent years, and there's no reason to doubt Taylor's ability to achieve that same feat at The Genesis this weekend.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
3 months agoFollowing a T54 finish at Pebble Beach, Xander Schauffele withdrew from the Phoenix Open field to reportedly rest his wrist. While it's not surprising that Schauffele would prioritize a Signature Event, how he's been putting this season has. Outside of an amazing week at the American Express, Schauffele has been subpar on the greens this season. Every other facet of his game has been elite, so a week off could see him bounce back with another top 10.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoA T66 to start the season was very unlike Rory McIlroy. It had been since May that McIlroy wasn't inside the top 25 and could have won twice on the DP World Tour in January. McIlroy was solid in round one of Pebble Beach, but a two-stroke penalty for an improper drop saw his score changed to 71. McIlroy posted a 69 on Saturday during the shortened event and improved on a rough Friday. McIlroy routinely skips Pebble Beach and regularly plays Riviera so a course he's comfortable at should see the star return to his regular form.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoFor the rest of the PGA Tour's sake, it's good news that Scottie Scheffler has one part of his game that's an issue. Scheffler looked primed to finish off a three-peat at TPC Scottsdale after he gained strokes on the greens during the first three rounds, but struggled during the final few holes on Sunday. Scheffler is a near lock to be toward the top of the leaderboard every week but needs the improved putting to win and pay off the huge price tag it costs to play him.
--Rob RoseSource: PGATOUR.com
3 months agoEmiliano Grillo has not broken into the win column this year, but he has four top-25 results in five tournaments. That includes four in a row since the 2024 opener in Hawaii. The golfer from Argentina shot a sizzling 63 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday. That vaulted him almost into the top 20. Riviera has been an up-and-down roller coaster for Grillo. Last year was rough, then he finished near the top 20. The year before that was a missed cut, where he kept missing putts. Grillo finished in the top 10 almost 25% of the time in 2023 but again did not see the weekend 10 times. However, this year has been different so far.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
3 months agoAfter a few tough tournaments, Harris English looks to keep the momentum going at Riviera Country Club this week. English finished tied for 17th at the WM Phoenix Open. He held on for dear life on Sunday to shoot a 71. It easily could have been a round closer to 75. The American golfer enjoyed a hot putter last year with a final round 65. This nearly pushed him into the Top 10. A torn labrum kept him out of the event two years ago. Alas, English must approach greens better (134th on tour in 2024) if he expects to thrive in Los Angeles.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
RADIO
