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Defending FedExCup champion, world No.1 and 2017 Riviera winner Dustin Johnson returns to the fight as a stacked field takes on the famous Riviera Country Club at the Genesis Invitational. The tournament, a Los Angeles staple, drew 16 of the FedExCup’s top 20 and eight of the world’s top 10 players, plus three-time champion Bubba Watson, two-time winner Adam Scott and more.
RELATED: Full departure times
PGA TOUR LIVE Will provide exclusive early-round coverage of the action in LA Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are among the names that will appear in this week’s featured groups. To get you ready for LIVE coverage, we’ve called our experts for a panel discussion on each group. Enjoy.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Television: Thursday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel, PGA TOUR Live Freeview), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Golf Channel), 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (Golf Channel, PGA TOUR Live Freeview). Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (CBS).
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday to Friday, 9:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. (featured groups), Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (featured groups), 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (featured groups), 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (featured holes).
Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6.30 p.m. (PGA TOUR radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).
TOURCast: Get real-time shot-by-shot information with shooting tracks and videos with TOURCast.
TOUR Pulse: Download the PGA TOUR app to use TOUR Pulse, which offers users the opportunity to experience a mix of content, such as video clips, written hole summaries and statistical graphs on each player after each hole completed.
FEATURED GROUPS
THURSDAY
Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm
Tea time: 10:13 am ET
Morikawa hasn’t played since a pair of T7s in Hawaii but ranks in the top two in Won Strokes: Approach-the-Green – ideal for a course where the greens are notoriously hard to hit. FedExCup # 1 Cantlay fights every time he puts it forward. Rahm has two top-20s in two starts at Riviera. Who will be the bottom man of this super group?
CAMERON MORFIT: Cantlay said he found something after barely making the cut and finishing second on the American Express, and I’m not going to doubt him following his T3 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. If the putts fall in Riviera, be careful.
BEN EVERILL: I have to go with Cantlay just based on recent form. The only thing that kept him from winning the American Express and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was the weird mistake here and there. In my opinion, he’s less likely to make as many mistakes as the other two over the four days. Plus – Riviera is a place that often rewards the best forwards rather than the best putters, so it only needs a decent half week on the greens.
ROB BOLTON: All three are rightfully in my power rating – Rahm at 4, Cantlay at 8 and Morikawa at 12 – so it’s a three-way trio. Cantlay has been playing more stressful golf lately, so he might be a bit tired, and Morikawa might be a bit rusty (and he’s still slipping along the learning curve), so these are reasons Rahm is the highest of the trio. Now is the perfect time for the Spaniard to shine.
Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson
Departure time: 10:24 am
Those three racked up six wins at Riviera, Watson leading with three, Scott two and Johnson one. All three could be considered Riviera specialists, but DJ just won on his last European Tour start, peaked at 36, and has nine top 10s in 13 starts in this SoCal gem. Can anything or anyone stop the express DJ this week?
CAMERON MORFIT: It depends if the right guy gets hot with the putter. Cantlay might be hard to stop if this happens to him and JT. And don’t forget Rory. After shooting a 64 (T13) final round on his last start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he said he started using a line on the ball again as opposed to the distance book to help him aim. But if I had to choose THE preferred one? Yeah, it’s DJ.
BEN EVERILL: The biggest threat to DJ is the man himself, but I trust Adam Scott ahead of his title defense. He made a plan to peak one week of every month and this week is his February slot. He knows Riviera like the back of his hand and will be up there Sunday afternoon.
ROB BOLTON: Just one thing – LA traffic. He is easily # 1 in my power ranking in a field filled with 1a.
FRIDAY
Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Cameron Champ
Departure time: 10:13 a.m.
McIlroy, T5 and T4 the past two years here, is a beast off the tee. But he could be the little guy in the group with DeChambeau (also T5 last year) and Champ (three MCs in three starts at Riv). What’s the best way to deal with a guy passing you by at every hole?
CAMERON MORFIT: The best way to deal with the indignity of being overwhelmed is also the best way to deal with an away game in front of a hostile crowd: advance on the scoreboard early. Sports Law: Whoever leads generates the most bluster, which tends to be expressed on the scoreboard. The driving distance numbers don’t really matter much after that.
BEN EVERILL: The best way? Make more birds. Ha, sorry about daddy’s joke. But the reality is you just don’t care what he’s doing and just focus on his own game. There’s always a half-full glass response and it’s similar to when you’re playing match play. Rather than worrying, the guy walks past you – see it as an opportunity to be the guy who controls the pressure. You first arrive at the green. If you do this the pressure changes and the bomber starts to get angry.
ROB BOLTON: If you’re concerned about your playing partner as a touring pro, you need to reset your priorities and attach blinders. If you can understand that this can be easier said than done with an ego fueled by an endless stream of inner vanity at the highest level of sport, then you can also understand that you know what to expect before you do. an emotion emerges. Simplify and attack.
Xander Sc Chaudele, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka
Tea time: 10h24
Byron Nelson said: “The winners are a different breed of cat.” Now that Koepka, one of the best farmers in the game, is healthy and hoisting trophies again, we have to ask ourselves: what exactly does this quote mean? What’s the secret sauce?
CAMERON MORFIT: A lot of guys have it all, but the patience and ability to slow things down under pressure is huge. After playing with Koepka in Waste Management’s final round a few weeks ago, Steve Stricker said, “He just hung out. What he meant was that Koepka made nine straight runs in the middle of the lap before slipping five pennies for his last six. Winning on TOUR means having a talent from another world, yes, but also knowing where you are and patiently waiting to find those 60 to 90 minutes that you absolutely cannot miss.
BEN EVERILL: To me that’s meant but what Koepka did on par-5 15e Sunday hole in Phoenix. James Hahn, the man in charge, was in a state of collapse and found the water. Koepka followed this shot with a laser within 6 meters for the eagle. Winners know when the winning moments have come and they most often succeed. Using the cat’s reference … they’re like the lioness who will kill. They are stealthy like Cam said above, then leap at the right time. Almost every time.
ROB BOLTON: Far be it from me to put words in Lord Byron’s mouth, so I’ll interpret his assessment on the makeup spectrum. Playing to win is an end point. Playing so as not to lose is the other. In real time, third-party observers know where a competitor is on the spectrum. Considering Koepka, there is no question about his position
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