Genesis Invitational: Hot Henley value at venue that suits

• Torrey Pines hosts for the first time

• Course form counts at the South Course

• Check out Andy Swales' course and form guide for this week's event

• Our Cheltenham offer is live! Get a completely free bet every weekend until the Festival

---

Tournament History

 

In existence since 1926, and originally known as the Los Angeles Open, the Genesis Invitational has been played at 11 different venues, but this year's renewal will be staged at a brand new one.

Most renewals, and every edition since 1999, have been staged at the iconic Riviera Country Club, but after January's wildfires in Pacific Palisades, the decision was soon made to move this year's edition to the equally iconic South Course along the coast at Torrey Pines.

The Genesis Invitational is the third Signature Event of the season.

---

Venue

 

South Course, Torrey Pines, La Jolla, California

---

Course Details

 

Par 72, 7,765 yards, stroke average at last month's Farmers Insurance Open - 73.68

Designed by Billy Bell Jr. and opened in 1957, the South Course is used for three of the four rounds played at the Farmers Insurance Open every January and it was also used for the US Open in both 2008 and 2021.

The South Course used to be one of the easier courses encountered on the PGA Tour, but it was extensively revamped in 2001, by Rees Jones; after it had been awarded the 2008 US Open, and it was tweaked again ahead of the 2021 renewal of the Farmers Insurance Open.

It's now an extremely demanding test and it's the longest course used on the PGA Tour.

The rough measured up to four inches at the Farmers last month and the greens, which are undulating, tricky to read, and a mix of Bentgrass and Poa annua, measured 13 on the Stimpmeter.

---

Weather Forecast

---

TV Coverage

Live on Sky all four das, starting at 17:30 on Thursday

---

Last Eight Tournament Winners with Pre-event Exchange Prices

 

2024 - Hideki Matsuyama -17 110.0109/1
2023 - Jon Rahm -17 10.09/1
2022 - Joaquin Niemann -19 65.064/1
2021 - Max Homa -12 80.079/1 (playoff)
2020 - Adam Scott -11 40.039/1
2019 - J.B Holmes -14 250.0249/1
2018 - Bubba Watson -12 85.084/1
2017 - Dustin Johnson -17 9.617/2

---

Last Eight Farmers Insurance Open Winners with Pre-event Exchange Prices

 

2025 - Haris English -8 130.0129/1
2024 - Matthieu Pavon -13 230.0229/1
2023 - Max Homa -13 28.027/1
2022 - Luke List -15 95.094/1 (playoff)
2021 - Patrick Reed -14 36.035/1
2020 - Marc Leishman -15 80.079/1
2019 - Justin Rose -21 19.018/1
2018 - Jason Day -10 26.025/1 (playoff)

---

2021 US Open Result

Jon Rahm -6 
Louis Oosthuizen -5
Harris English -3

---

What Will it Take to Win the Genesis Invitational?

Harris English won this year's edition of the Farmers Insurance Open in poor weather in a single digit score under-par.

High winds made for a stern test and the leaderboard was dominated by those that played well on approach or scrambled well.

Although the front three only ranked 30^th, 16^th and 11^th for Greens In Regulation, they ranked fourth, third and seventh for Strokes Gained: Approach and the first and second, English and Sam Stevens, first and second for Scrambling.

No single stat sticks out year after year at Torrey Pines, and none of the driving metrics appear important, but in calmer conditions, strong putting is usually the key to success here.

English only ranked 28^th for Putting Average last month but ten of the last 14 Farmers winners have ranked inside the top ten for PA and English ranked as high as third for Strokes Gained: Putting.

---

Course form counts at Torrey Pines

 

Prior to his victory last month, English had finished third in the US Open around the South Course in 2021, and he had Famers form figures reading 43-73-2-31-14-8-MC-71-MC-64 so we knew he could perform on the track.

Matthieu Pavon won the Farmers on debut in 2024 but up until then, Jon Rahm, who won the Farmers in 2017, had been the only winner of the event to be playing Torrey Pines for the first time since it moved there back in 1968, so the Frenchman's victory was very much unexpected and even if we disregard the eight-time course winner, Tiger Woods, course form has been a huge indicator. 

The 2023 Farmers winner, Max Homa, had missed five cuts here before his victory, but he'd also finished ninth and 18^th, in 2020 and '21, and although he was a big outsider three years ago, Luke List had finished 12^th in 2018 and 10^th in 2021. 

Patrick Reed had finished sixth 12 months before he won the 2021 edition and the 2020 winner, Marc Leishman, had twice finished runner-up in the event previously. And they were far from the first to give us an indication that they liked the place... 

Scott Stallings hadn't made a cut here before winning the Farmers 11 years ago but he was very much the exception rather than the rule and it's worth noting that he followed up his win with a second 12 months later. 

Brandt Snedeker was winning here for a second time when he got lucky with the draw in foul conditions in 2016 and Jason Day has also won the Farmers Insurance Open twice. 

Justin Rose struggled to get to know the place but he had been fourth and eighth in the two years prior to his 2019 Farmers victory and Ben Crane, Nick Watney and even the shock 2004 winner, John Daly, had all finished inside the top-10 in at least one of their previous two appearances at Torrey Pines, so despite the 2017 and 2024 Farmers results, think very carefully before backing someone here with little or no previous at the track. 

Glen Abbey, which has hosted many a Canadian Open, provides far and away the strongest course correlation but unfortunately, we haven't had an event staged there since 2018.

---

Course Winner's Position and Exchange Price Pre-Round Four

 

2025 - Harris English - led by a stroke 2.8615/8
2024 - Matthieu Pavon - T2nd - trailing by one 8.615/2
2023 - Max Homa - T4th - trailing by five 22.021/1
2022 - Luke List - T19th - trailing by five 290.0289/1
2021 - Jon Rahm (US Open) - T6th - trailing by three 13.012/1
2021 - Patrick Reed -tied for the lead 4.131/10
2020 - Marc Leishman - T7th - trailing by four 48.047/1
2019 - Justin Rose led by three strokes 1.4840/85

---

In-Play Tactics

 

It's a bit tricky to compare how this event will pan out compared to the Farmers Insurance Open.

The field is split between the South and North Courses over rounds one and two before those that make it through to the weekend contend for the title at the South but for what it's worth, Torrey Pines is not an easy place to make the running and ground can be made up after a slow start.

Having started at the North Course, English sat tied for 18^th and five off the lead last month and he was still trading at 40.039/1 at halfway when trailing by three in a tie for seventh at halfway.

He led the event by a stroke with 18 to play but as you'll see from the data above, 54-hole leaders winning around the South Course isn't a common occurrence.

---

Market Leaders

 

Scottie Scheffler's stats weren't great at TPC Scottsdale last week and that's a venue he's particularly fond of. Having won the Phoenix Open there back-to-back, he traded at odds-on there 12 months ago and was matched at around 6/17.00 on Sunday after an early charge from off the pace. But he finished tardily after four early birdies and eventually was tied for 25^th.

That's understandable maybe given that was just his second start of the year and he'll bounce back and win sooner or later.

Given he has a 50% strike rate since March last year (won nine of 18 events), there's definitely an argument to be made for taking odds in excess of 5/16.00 but his record here is only ordinary.

Scheffler finished tied for seventh behind Rahm in the 2021 US Open but in three starts in the Farmers he's missed the cut twice and finished 20^th on his last visit in 2022.

This is the world number one's 22^nd start in California and he's yet to win here so this could be a week to safely leave him alone.

The second favourite, Rory McIlroy, had an almost equally poor record in the Golden State until two weeks ago.

He won the now defunct WGC Match Play at Harding Park back in 2015 but in 21 stroke play starts he'd drawn a blank until his very impressive victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Rory has been in sensational form of late and, although he hasn't won back-to-back individual events in 11 years, he did win the Wells Fargo Championship last year after partnering Shane Lowry to victory in the Zurich Classic. His form around the South Course, that reads 5-3-16-7, is pretty solid.

He hasn't played here since finishing alongside Scheffler in the US Open, so it's clearly not a venue he's in a hurry to play, but he's likely to be there or thereabouts this week and odds of 8/19.00 appear reasonable.

Collin Morikawa, who has course form figures reading 21-4-3-MC, is the only other player trading at less than 20/121.00 but he makes little appeal given his weekend off here was as recent as last month and that he's becoming hard to trust in-contention.

He tends to start nicely and fade and, with just one victory in the last five years (the 2023 ZOZO Championship), he's very easy to dismiss.

---

Hot Henley value at venue that suits

 

Russell Henley missed the cut in his only appearance in the Farmers Insurance Open back in 2014 and he's swerved the event ever since, but he was tied for the lead through the first three rounds in the US Open here in 2021.

He shot a disappointing 76 on Sunday to fall to 13^th place but it was an encouraging performance that demonstrated that the venue suits.

The 35-year-old Georgian is in search of his fifth PGA Tour title and he's in the sort of form that suggests he could go in again sooner rather than later.

After a break of four months following his impressive tied fourth at the Tour Championship, he's been creeping into form nicely in 2025, finishing 30^th at The Sentry, 10^th in the Sony Open, and fifth behind Rory at Pebble Beach two weeks ago.

I'll be back with a couple of picks for the Find Me a 100 Winner column but my only other wager for now is on the US Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, who has a very fair record at Torrey Pines.

He wasn't in the 2021 US Open field, but the 38-year-old has played in the Farmers Insurance Open 14 times, and he's finished inside the top five on three occasions.  

He was a little disappointing last time out at Pebble Beach, where he finished down the field, but he was 15^th here prior to that and he finished 15^th in The Sentry and sixth in the Sony Open in his first two starts. He's been in reasonable form in 2025.

Bradley has won seven times on the PGA Tour and having won the ZOZO Championship in 2022, the Travelers in 2023 and the BMW Championship in August last year, he's aging nicely and he's in search of his fourth victory in four years.

---

*You can follow me on Twitter @SteveThePunter

---

Read more golf tips, previews and analysis here