Set at the luscious greens of Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, this par-71 course ranks as one of the toughest tests from tee to green on the PGA tour.
Every season it presents as a course with some of the hardest fairways and greens to hit making it a true test for elite golfers around the world.
Jon Rahm
Spain
Let us start with the favourite for the tournament.
Jon Rahm ranks in the PGA as the best golfer in the world and has looked in super sharp nick heading to Los Angeles.
His T-3 in the Farmers Insurance Open at South Torrey Pines and Top 10 finish at Scottsdale has put the writing on the wall for what should be another successful season on the tour for 27-year-old Spaniard.
Since the beginning of the year, anyone who has played 10 rounds of golf or more on the tour has not been able to keep up with Rahm for strokes gained per round.
The Spaniard averages 2.79 strokes gained and only Patrick Cantlay ranks better at 2.81.
The only issue for Rahm this season is his ability to translate such brilliant golf into winning tournaments.
But we are still in the infancy of the season and this represents a great chance for Rahm to lock away a tournament win before the tour moves away from the West Coast.
Suggested Bet: Jon Rahm at $9
patrick cantlay
USA
There is not a better golfer in the tour right now in terms of numbers than Patrick Cantlay.
He has seven straight top-11 finishes to his name at the moment and is the most consistent player on the tour.
If you are looking for someone to be in the hunt with the back-nine to play, he is the man you want to bank your chances with.
Cantlay ranks number one on the PGA tour for strokes gained per round and that type of form is eventually going to translate into a tournament victory.
The American plays this course particularly well given how difficult it can be for even the very best.
He has four-straight Top 20 finishes, but what really stands out here is that he is going much better coming into Riviera Country Club this time than he was in all those previous outings.
It would be a complete shock to see him out of contention heading into the final day.
Suggested Bet: Patrick Cantlay at $11
Hideki Matsuyama
Japan
Much like the beautiful surroundings and quirky course that unravels the very best at the US Masters in Augusta, prior course form is here is a huge factor.
The last six Genesis champions all had a previous top five at Riviera and Hideki Matsuyama fits that mould.
Currently ranked as the 10th best player on the PGA Tour, Matsuyama has already won twice this season after holding aloft the silverware in the CJ Cup and finishing with a sparkling part of 63s to triumph in the Sony Open last month.
There is a often a theory in golf betting that it is hard to back up tournament win after tournament win.
But Matsuyama is a proven hot-streak player.
Four victories in five starts back in 2016 showed he does not let the awe get to him and he capitalised on that hot run by winning at Scottsdale four tournaments later.
He seems to be building really nicely into this season and his form at Scottsdale last week looks a nice platform to launch into one his favourite courses.
Suggested Bet: Hideki Matsuyama win at $19
cameron smith
australia
Our very own local hope in Cameron Smith has to be brought into calculations given his ability to get white-hot with the putter.
He absolutely loves playing here one finish outside the top 10 in the last eight years.
After a top 25 finish at Torrey Pines was followed up by by a T-8 at the Sony Open, Smith jets straight over to the USA without having a sighter since January.
What bodes will for him at Riviera is his ability to hit mid-60 scores with ease.
He did so in 2018 and might very well have won here had it not been for an even-par final round of 71.
With an 80% chance of making the top 10 based on what he has done here in the past, the $19 on offer looks great.
Suggested Bet: Cameron Smith win at $19
