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The First Look
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Players share what they enjoy most about The Riviera Country Club
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Written by Staff
The PGA TOUR returns to one of the game’s most iconic venues, The Riviera Country Club, for The Genesis Invitational. It is a welcome homecoming for the world’s best players, who return to Riviera after the tournament was relocated to Torrey Pines Golf Course for the 2025 edition due to the Los Angeles-area wildfires.
The Genesis is the second Signature Event of the season and features a limited field of 72 of the TOUR’s best, who earned their way in thanks to their finishes through 2025 on the FedExCup standings or an impressive start to 2026 via the Aon Swing 5.
Here’s everything else you need to know as the PGA TOUR heads down the California coast to Pacific Palisades.
FIELD NOTES: The field is stacked, with many of the heavy hitters from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am making the short trip down to the Pacific Palisades for the second Signature Event of the 2026 season. … Scottie Scheffler looks for his first win at The Genesis, still holding onto his top-10 streak at 18 events following his T4 finish at Pebble Beach. … Rory McIlroy returns for the second week in a row following his season debut on the Monterey Peninsula, finishing T14. … Ludvig Åberg returns as defending champion at The Genesis as the event returns to its home at Riviera, looking to regain his form after a lackluster start to his 2026 campaign. Åberg earned the victory when the tournament was held at Torrey Pines, making him the defending champion of the event, but not the course. … That honor goes to Hideki Matsuyama, the 2024 winner, who returns to Riviera in tremendous form, likely to be a popular pick ahead of the action. … FedExCup winner Tommy Fleetwood leads a group of talented contenders to look out for that includes 2026 event winners Chris Gotterup and Justin Rose, alongside the likes of Cameron Young, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley, Patrick Cantlay, Keegan Bradley and Xander Schauffele.
HIGHEST-RANKED PLAYERS IN THE FIELDFedExCupWorld Ranking1. Chris Gotterup1. Scottie Scheffler2. Scottie Scheffler2. Rory McIlroy3. Collin Morikawa3. Justin Rose4. Hideki Matsuyama4. Tommy Fleetwood5. Ryan Gerard5. Collin Morikawa6. Justin Rose6. Russell Henley7. Si Woo Kim7. Chris Gotterup8. Ryo Hisatsune8. J.J. Spaun9. Sepp Straka9. Robert MacIntyre10. Min Woo Lee10. Hideki Matsuyama
SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Tournament host Tiger Woods announced Sahith Theegala as the recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, which earns a spot in the field at Riviera. Awarded annually since 2009, the Sifford Exemption has been given to a deserving golfer from a minority background to play in The Genesis Invitational. The exemption continues Sifford’s legacy by recognizing players whose journeys reflect the power of opportunity, perseverance and progress in the game of golf. “Receiving this special invitation from Tiger is an honor,” Theegala said. “The Genesis Invitational has played an important role in my journey to the PGA TOUR, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to compete in Charlie’s memory.” … Two past champions also will be teeing it up in LA on sponsor exemptions. Adam Scott, who won The Genesis in 2020, 15 years after his unofficial victory at Riviera, as rain shortened the event to 36 holes, is joined by 2021 winner Max Homa. … Tony Finau will also play on a sponsor exemption. Finau lost in a playoff to Homa during that 2021 victory. … Tom Kim rounds out the sponsor exemptions. Kim, part of TGL’s Jupiter Links alongside Woods and Homa, has made 4-of-4 cuts this season but has yet to crack the top 30 of a leaderboard.
SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The Aon Swing 5 was finalized at the WM Phoenix Open, with Pierceson Coody, Ryo Hisatsune, Jake Knapp, Matt McCarty and Patrick Rodgers securing the five coveted positions.
FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 700 FedExCup points.
COURSE: The Riviera Country Club, par 71, 7,384 yards. The club, long ranked as one of the best in the world, features a compact design built to test all aspects of a player’s game – especially with the primary rough of club-grabbing Kikuyu. It will host the 2028 Summer Olympics men’s and women’s golf competitions and the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open.
72-HOLE RECORD: 264, Lanny Wadtkins (1985)
18-HOLE RECORD: 61, George Archer (Round 3, 1983 at Rancho Park GC), Ted Tryba (Round 3, 1999 at Riviera CC)
LAST TIME: In the wake of the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, last year’s The Genesis Invitational moved to Torrey Pines’ South Course, where Ludvig Åberg rallied down the stretch, carding an emphatic back-nine 32 to capture his second win on TOUR. Åberg was three shots behind and running out of holes when he hit three shots to near perfection for birdies on Nos. 13-15 and capped off his late rally with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot victory over Maverick McNealy. … However, the last time The Genesis was at Riviera, it was Hideki Matsuyama who came roaring back after starting the final round six shots behind. He finished with a record performance, posting a 9-under 62 to mark the lowest closing round by a winner at Riviera. The win was No. 9 on TOUR for Matsuyama, the most by an Asian-born golfer.
How to follow (all times ET)
Special programming alerts:
Monday: “The Drop,” 7 p.m., Golf ChannelWednesday: “On the Range,” 5-6:30 p.m., Golf ChannelThursday-Friday: 4-8 p.m., Golf ChannelSaturday: 1-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-7 p.m., CBSSunday: 1-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-6:30 p.m., CBSThursday-Friday: 10:15 a.m.-8 p.m.Saturday: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m.Sunday: 9:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ and consists of four streams:
Main feed (Stream 1): Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from across the courseMarquee group (Stream 2): New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the groupFeatured groups (Stream 3): Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groupsFeatured holes (Stream 4): Combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes.Thursday-Friday: 2-8 p.m.Saturday: 2-7 p.m.Sunday: 1-6:30 p.m.*:not(style){overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0px;right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;width:100%;height:100%;}.css-11jnzpa>img,.css-11jnzpa>video{object-fit:cover;}.css-11jnzpa::before{height:0px;content:””;display:block;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;}]]>
Feb 16, 2026
Ludvig Åberg betting profile: the Genesis InvitationalBetting Profile
