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Genesis Invitational: Top 10 power rankings at Riviera

By Mike Randleman

February 17, 2019; Pacific Palisades, CA, USA; General view of the eighteenth green and clubhouse during the final round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
February 17, 2019; Pacific Palisades, CA, USA; General view of the eighteenth green and clubhouse during the final round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 15, 2018; Pacific Palisades, CA, USA; Rory McIlroy plays a shot from a bunker on the tenth hole during the first round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2018; Pacific Palisades, CA, USA; Rory McIlroy plays a shot from a bunker on the tenth hole during the first round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

Rory McIlroy has been a top-20 machine lately with no wins to show for it. Sound familiar? That’s also his resume at the Genesis Invitational.

Ninety-nine percent of PGA Tour pros would take a string of T-20th, T-20th, T-4th and T-5th like Rory’s pulled off at famed Riviera Country Club. Yet, he’s got to feel unfulfilled to not have a win, let alone a top-three since he began playing here in 2016.

“It’s a golf course where … there’s no hazards to really hit it in. You can’t really lose a ball unless you’re Phil,” McIlroy joked in a 2020 press conference transcribed by Tee Scripts. “It’s sort of one of these where if you hit it offline, you’re going to get it and you’re going to have a chance to recover and use your short game and get away with a par and move on to the next hole.

“So I think that’s why. That’s the beauty about Riviera, you don’t necessarily have to have your best as long as your manage your game well, you’re always going to be in there with a chance.”

Last year he was third in the field in scrambling (76.92%) and fourth in strokes gained tee to green (2.25).

The 31-year-old Northern Irishman ranks second on the PGA Tour in SG off the tee (1.196) only behind Bryson DeChambeau. He’s also fifth in birdie average (4.96).

McIlroy has made 18 cuts in a row worldwide dating back to the 2019 Open Championship. He’s finished T-21st or better in nine straight events with four top-eights in that span. He’s coming off a week of rest following T-13th at the Phoenix Open.

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