PGA DFS Tournament Breakdown: The Genesis Invitational
Long-time grinder, stlcardinals84, breaks down his top PGA DFS tournament picks in various price ranges on DraftKings and FanDuel for the WM Phoenix Open. Which golfers should you be targeting to try and take down the big DFS tournaments? Find out below!
Welcome back to the weekly GPP breakdown article! Golf is officially in full swing, and we have yet another strong field assembled with our second consecutive “elevated event” as The Genesis Invitational takes center stage. Most of the top golfers on the PGA TOUR will tee it up at Riviera Country Club this week, and it’s nice to see Riviera back as the usual host. Torrey Pines had to step in and host a year ago due to the tragic wildfires in California.
While we have another elevated event with just 70 golfers in the field, this one will be a little different than last week in that we DO have a cut this time. After the 2nd round, the field will be pared down to the top 50 and ties, along with anyone within 10 strokes of the leader. It will be very important to get all of your golfers through the cut line with this limited cut setup.
As for the course itself, we do have plenty of history to lean on at Riviera. This event has been around for decades, and the course is as tried and tested as any that is used on the PGA TOUR. It has certainly withstood the test of time, and it’s a true all-around challenge for the golfers that tee it up here. As is the case with many difficult layouts, the top golfers tend to rise to the top of the leaderboard. Experience tends to matter, as first-timers often struggle here.
From a statistical perspective, you need to be pretty good at pretty much everything in order to succeed at Riviera. Keep it in play off the tee. Try to hit the greens in regulation. Scramble for pars when you need to. The solid all-around, patient golfer is the type that we need to consider, and course history is also more important this week than we see with some other events. If I had to pick one statistical measure to focus on, tee to green and specifically approach play would be my first priority. Bogey Avoidance is also worth a look. Riviera has one of the most iconic short par 4s with its 10th hole, and it plays as a par 71 at a healthy 7,300+ yards on the scorecard. Given that length, distance off the tee has proven to be more important on this golf course over the several years, so I am prioritizing that more than I did in the past.
Let’s find some GPP picks that I like for another fun event!
PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Tournament Breakdown for The Genesis Invitational
Hideki Matsuyama
DraftKings: $9,500
FanDuel: $11,600
I really love the balanced build this week. Scottie Scheffler is great, but the slow starts in recent weeks are at least mildly concerning, and he really hamstrings your build on a week where you need to make sure you don’t have any missed cuts with the different format. I prefer to start a bit cheaper, and Matsuyama is a great starting point for those balanced rosters. Over the last 36 rounds, he ranks 11th in this field from tee to green and leads the field around the green, which could be huge on a week where you need to save par quite often. Matsuyama also won this event the last time it was held at Riviera 2 years ago, and he has started 2026 with 4 straight top-15 finishes. That’s a pretty good combination of factors.
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