The Genesis
Scottie Scheffler is back in the winner’s circle once again. In the past 365 days, Scottie has won 5 times and he has no plans of slowing down. What makes this win so impressive is he has not only won back to back but he is the first winner of the new elevated event series. Last week at the Waste Management Scottie fended off the world's top players including Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas. With a clutch putt on 16 for par Scottie propelled himself forward to a 19 under par, two shot lead victory. Scottie hasn’t been in the spotlight these past few weeks thanks to Jon Rahm but after this week things are going to change.
However that spotlight has left Rahm and Scheffler very quickly come Monday morning. As we all know Tiger Woods announced last week during the Waste Management that he will be in the field for the Genesis Open. Pretty good PR move if you ask me. When the time comes to hand out the PIP winner everyone will know why it's Tiger Woods. He has the best PR team on the planet. He used the hype around one of the most electrifying weeks on tour to announce he will be playing in a non-major event. He got the golf world buzzing, players were talking about it, media outlets were lighting up, and sponsors were thrilled it was a success for all parties, especially Tiger. Tiger is still the needle for golf, where Tiger goes the golf world follows. The only thing on the minds of fans is how Tiger's body will hold up and how he will perform on a relatively hilly golf course. Nevertheless, viewership will be at an all time high and that's all because of Tiger Woods.
From a player standpoint, there will be the game's top talent on display. The most notable group so happens to be Tiger’s group which includes Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas as well. On top of those three, the field will include Max Homa,2021 champions, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, and Will Zalatoris. This field is top of the line, I'm not sure if this field could be any better frankly. On top of this star-studded field, the host course Riviera is an absolute masterpiece. “Riv”, as many players and fans call it, has hosted the event 59 times and has been the home to many great winners over the years. This event carries a vast amount of history as well. It was the host of Jack Nicholas’ professional debut and Tiger Woods’ first PGA Tour event. Another jaw dropping stat, 25 of the past winners of the event are also in The World Golf Hall of Fame. Let me tell you if you win this event you are in some pretty elite company at the end of the day. The Genesis Open also provides young players with some pretty incredible opportunities. The Charlie Sifford Award is given to a minority player and they host a collegiate event which grants the winner of that event a spot in the field. These exemptions are huge for the game of golf and give young players the opportunity to make a name for themselves. This week will not only provide fantastic golf but it will continue to add to the history of the event and golf itself. (Mike)
Scottie Scheffler has become almost a forgotten man when people mention the best golfers in the world. Leading up to the Waste Management last week it seemed like everyone was primarily focused on Rory and Rahm. The masses speculated about which one of those two would win and there was very little mention of Scottie. Those three are in their own tier right now, and hopefully yet another win for him will make more people start to understand how good Scottie is. Speaking of forgotten golfers…. Rickie Fowler and Jason Day looked pretty solid last week, so I hope this means big things for the both of them as they are some of my favorite all time golfers. It has been ages since either of them has won so it would be one of the better moments of the golf year if either of them were to break through and win again.
The rotating elevated events could not have got off to a better start. The Waste Management and The PGA Tour exceeded my expectations and delivered an awesome weekend of golf. I still have plenty of complaints for how little golf they show on TV, but there has been small progress lately in that regard so hopefully that trend continues. The only other slight I have on these elevated events is what in the world took them so long to do this? The leaderboard was stacked, the golf was electric, the fans were into it and it just seemed very special for the game of golf. I am curious to see how the next elevated event plays out because The Waste Management always has a certain buzz around it, but was enhanced due to the strength of the field. I am looking forward to the next 2023 specific elevated event at the RBC Heritage in April. Having the world's best players compete against each other more often can only be a net positive and I am excited to see how this continues to evolve and which tournaments are picked for next year.
Last week was not a bad week for me with my picks. Sungjae Im had a T6 while Tony Finau had a T14. With another stacked field this week, it does not get any easier. Riviera is one of the great courses on Tour and it is also a place Max Homa is incredibly familiar with. He has also experienced success here and for those two reasons, it is impossible for me to pick against him this week. Another guy that I think will be at the top of the leaderboard this weekend is Sam Burns. His resume probably deserves more respect, but a win here at Riviera would bring him that additional respect and then some. Tiger will get all of the headlines with his comeback, but do not let that distract you from the immense talent in the field this week. (Tyler)