If there are “horses for courses” tournaments on the PGA Tour, the Genesis Invitational and Riviera Country Club would seem to be among them. Specifically, in recent years there are three big horses to always have your eye on: Adam Scott, the defending champion who also won the event in 2005 and was runner-up in 2016; Bubba Watson, three times a winner in the last seven years outside of Los Angeles; and Dustin Johnson, winner in 2017 and a runner-up in 2014 and 2015. The trio hold the 1, 2 and 3 spots, respectively, on the tournament’s all-time money list, all earning more than $4 million in their careers.
But this year’s Genesis has proved just a bit different than its predecessors. Witness a nearly four-hour wind delay on Saturday that will require 23 players to clock in a marathon day Sunday. Meanwhile only just one of Riviera’s familiar three are in the mix—Johnson, who sits two strokes off the lead at seven under entering the final round.
As for those tied or ahead of Johnson on the Genesis leader board, their track records in the event are limited. Leader Sam Burns, nine under after finishing his third-round 74 on Sunday morning, is competing for just the third time in the tournament, with a MC and a T-23 being his previous results. This is the second start at Riviera for Matthew Fitzpatrick (seven under), after a T-30 a year ago. Max Homa (seven under) is playing for the fourth time, and does have a T-5 from a year ago to lean back on.
Suffice it to say, there is plenty at stake on Sunday. Given the elevated status of the event, the winner earns 550 FedEx Cup points rather than the typical 500 and grabs a three-year exemption on tour instead of the usual two. And the purse, well it’s “elevated,” too. The overall prize money payout for the week is $9.3 million with the winner earning $1.675 million. It’s a pretty handsome payday for when you consider the career earnings for these contenders other than Johnson ($70.8 million)
Here are the prize money payouts for each golfer who made the cut this week at Riviera. Come back shortly after the end of the tournament and we’ll update this with the list of players’ names and their specific earnings.