Real Winners and Losers from 2024 Genesis Invitational

The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, the third Signature Event of 2024, has come to an end. Tiger’s early withdrawal for “influenza” may have initially stolen the headlines, but we take a look at this week’s true winners and losers. 

The Genesis Invitational Winners

Will Zalatoris

Finishing in second place at -14 is a great finish for Zalatoris who was sidelined from injury for most of last season. If there was ever any doubt about whether he could return to his prior form, this result and paycheque of $1,800,000 confirm that his initial comeback is complete. 

Zalatoris is a big game player. He’s played at 10 majors and finished in the top 10 six times, including three second-place finishes at the Masters (2021), the PGA Championship (2022) and the US Open (2022). 

His return to form is great for the game, great for the fans, and hopefully means he is ready for another great performance at the majors this year. 

Jason Day

Jason Day is a difficult player to categorize. He’s up, he’s down. He wins the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson, he misses the next three cuts. 

This year, Day has played all three Signature Events and finished T10, T6, and now 9th. The former world number one has started this season incredibly well and will be looking to keep this momentum, maintain his form, and peak at the right time. 

Hideki Matsuyama

The golfing world all celebrated Hideki’s win at the 2021 Masters as there could hardly be a more deserving player after the ball striking quality he showed season after season.  

Since then, Hideki’s form has dried up in the big tournaments. Admittedly, he won the 2021 ZOZO Championship and the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii, but only managed a single top 5 in the next 10 majors he played at. 

This sort of trail-off after a debut major victory is a common pattern, but winning a Signature Event this early in the season is a great way to build momentum for the rest of the season.  Hideki shot a bogey-free 62 (-9) on Sunday to cruise to a three-shot victory.

The Genesis Invitational Losers 

Scottie Scheffler

It wouldn’t be a PGA Tour event without Scottie Scheffler finishing in the top 10. Unfortunately for Scottie, he probably would have won by 10 if his putter wasn’t absolutely hopeless. 

Scottie’s game is sharp and presents him with plenty of chances every round. However, his game quickly folds when it comes to just getting the ball in the hole. 

This past weekend Scottie ranked first in strokes gained tee to green, but was last in strokes gained putting out of the 51 players counted in the statistics per Dan Rapaport.

Frustration got the better of the usually cool-headed Scheffler as he threw away his ball in anger. Not a good week with the short stick for Scottie. 

Justin Thomas 

In the last Signature Event, JT appeared in the 'Winners' section of this column. Sadly, the same isn’t repeated here as JT missed the cut with a disappointing +4 in an event where only 17 players were cut (among them, the Pebble Beach winner Wyndham Clark). 

JT will need a quick spring back to avoid one bad result leading to another poor season.

Jordan Spieth

Needless to say, being disqualified is embarrassing, especially when it arises from something completely self-inflicted and avoidable. For Jordan, this is exactly how his week shaped up.

In a bizarre turn of events, Spieth found himself disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after the second round which has sparked many debates amongst fans.

Either way, Jordan (who accepted responsibility for his mistake on social media) lost out this weekend.