PGA Tour Top Five Fantasy Picks: Genesis Open

Marc Leishman — $7,600

This Aussie will probably never develop into a full-fledged star, but he’s still enjoying plenty of success as one of the PGA Tour’s more talented players. Armed with a solid all-around game, Leishman will look to pick up his third career victory on a major circuit this week, and he just might be playing well enough to pull it off.

With a top 25 in each of his last six worldwide starts, Leishman certainly isn’t wanting for better form — on the contrary, he’s managed to post at least a couple of good scores week in and week out. In terms of course history, his track record at Riviera is mixed, but with three career top 20s, including an impressive tie for fifth a year ago, there’s plenty of reason for optimism. Furthermore, he ranks inside the top 50 on the PGA Tour in both strokes gained: off-the-tee and strokes gained: putting, so he should give himself ample opportunities to score.

Given his solid form and good result last year, I’m projecting Leishman to vastly outperform many of his companions in the $7,500 – $8,000 range. He could also provide some good support in the PGA Tour Avis game, though I’d probably keep him on the bench to begin the week.