I hope everyone enjoyed watching an American star finally pick up another win after a lengthy drought, ending with an emotional interview on the 18th green. But enough about Anthony Kim.
The PGA Tour is heading back to famed Riviera Country Club this week for the annual playing of The Genesis Invitational. For those who might not remember, last year's Genesis was played at Torrey Pines due to the fires occurring around Los Angeles, so this is our first glimpse in a couple of years of the historic course that is celebrating its centennial this year.
The Genesis also holds the belt for most ironic tournament host, with Tiger Woods hosting this week despite never actually winning at Riviera.
Strong approach play pretty much always plays well around Riviera, even as the course has tended to benefit bombers in recent years. A lot of the par-4s around Riviera are long, generally leading to a lot of mid to long-iron approaches into greens, meaning the field this week is going to need to bring their A-game with the irons this week.
We came close again this past week at Pebble Beach with the rankings (big congrats to Collin Morikawa finally breaking his winless streak), so hopefully a return to Riviera can treat us better.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Gerard, Chris Gotterup, Ben Griffin, Alex Noren, Sepp Straka
9. Xander Schauffele
Xander finally start to show some signs of life last weekend with a T19 finish at Pebble, but we're still waiting on that full return to the dominant form that he showed in 2024.
Riviera should prove to be a good spot for Schauffele to flex his skill, as he has six career top-25 finishes here in seven starts. Last week, Xander turned things around with the putter, putting up his best performance with the flatstick in terms of strokes gained since the Truist last season. If he can keep the mojo up with the putter, Xander will be a factor.
8. Cameron Young
Look, Cam Young has not been able to carry over the momentum he found at the end of last season yet, with his best finish being a measly T22 at Torrey Pines.
But the 28-year-old, much like Schauffele, has always played well at Riviera, going three-for-three with top-20 finishes in his career. Something about the setup of the course fits Young's eye, as his normal accuracy issues off the tee don't seem to plague him here, and he's able to attack basically every hole with his irons.
If we catch a hot week with the putter, Young should be a fixture on the weekend broadcast.
7. Viktor Hovland
We saw one member of the 2019 rookie class pick up a win last weekend, so why not see another member win this coming weekend? Viktor Hovland is a player I never know what to do with in the rankings, because it feels like he's trying out six new swing thoughts at any given moment.
Because of this, I often lose track of him in events (today is truly the first I'm hearing of his T10 finish at the WM two weeks ago). However, it always feels like his irons are ready to play at any given time, his short game is considerably better, and he plays well at Riviera. Much like his win at Valspar last year, we could see a completely out-of-nowhere win for Vik this weekend.
6. Jake Knapp
The mayor of tempo town, Jake Knapp has gotten off to a great start in 2026, with four straight top-11 finishes. Knapp's putter has been extra hot to start the season, which does worry me a little bit that this is just a quick flash and isn't sustainable, but I'll give him another week to show off his skills.
The irons have improved from their 2025 baseline considerably to start the year, and it seems like the UCLA graduate is in complete control of his ball. Maybe his hot start can finally result in a win this week.
5. Matt Fitzpatrick
After a really bad performance at The American Express, Fitz has turned things around with a solo ninth in Phoenix and a T14 at Pebble last week, all while getting basically nothing out of his putter this year.
This is the opposite of what's been the norm for the Englishman the past few seasons, with the putter usually being a weapon. If he can swing the pendulum a bit more back into that territory with the putter, then Matt Fitzpatrick can find himself back in the winner's circle come Sunday.
4. Hideki Matsuyama
Hideki Matsuyama has gotten four straight top-13 finishes to start his season, all while being extremely poor off the tee. I'm mainly impressed with how well Hideki was able to bounce back from a devastating loss in Phoenix with a respectable T8 finish at Pebble Beach.
Matsuyama is also a bit of a horse for Riviera, having won the last playing here in 2024 and accumulating five other top-25 finishes in his career here. If he gets the driver to click, Hideki could be the favorite in the non-Scottie markets.
3. Rory McIlroy
Rory has a bit of the Tiger issue when it comes to Riviera. He's never won here, only truly contended a couple of times, and just never seems to get things to fall his way (speaking of which, go look at the 2020 leaderboard for a truly unhinged collection of players at the top).
McIlroy should have played more of a factor in Sunday's proceedings, but two 7s on the scorecard on Saturday took him out of contention, despite a Sunday 64. McIlroy's irons looked great last weekend. The driving could be better, but he's not in a terrible spot, and I think this could be the year Rory really threatens at Riviera.
2. Tommy Fleetwood
Is it actually funnier if Tommy Fleetwood is the greatest one-time winner in PGA Tour history, rather than the best player to never win on Tour?
Sunday felt like a vintage Fleetwood performance: early bogey, unable to get things going, make a couple birdies on the back to have a 15-minute stretch where we play the what-if game, ultimately ending in a non-competitive top-five finish.
Regardless, because he did finally find a win, he has to be seriously considered to win because the talent he possesses is ridiculous. I want him to win so much more than he has, so please, Tommy, I'm begging you.
1. Scottie Scheffler
Here's an idea for Scottie this week: Play well in the first round, and you'll most likely win.
It was a tiny bit concerning watching Scheffler miss multiple short putts on Sunday at Pebble, but the weather was so crazy that day that it may not be as big of an issue as it seems. Riviera rewards great iron players, and there's no better iron player on Tour than Scottie. Another win is coming soon, and it's just a matter of when, not if.