Rory McIlroy has a date in his diary for next week, when he will head back to Augusta National for a round with the club chairman Fred Ridley and also his dad, Gerry, as the schedule counts down towards his defence of the green jacket at this year’s Masters.
For now, though, the Northern Irishman’s focus is on the Genesis Invitational – hosted by Tiger Woods – at the famed Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on the outskirts of Los Angeles, when McIlroy will look to conquer a course that has yet to give him a win in his fourth start of the year.
McIlroy’s best finish at Riviera was a tied-fourth in 2019, while he finished tied-fifth in 2020 when he was in the same final-round group as winner Adam Scott.
Having admitted to some rustiness in his title defence last week at Pebble Beach, with his first two tournaments of the year coming in back-to-back weeks in Dubai last month on the DP World Tour, McIlroy is looking to kick on at this PGA Tour signature tournament with a $20 million purse.
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“I’m just sort of working through that first little bit of the year where you’re trying to shake a little bit of rust off and you’re trying to sort of find your footing a little bit and sort of where your game is. Felt like I learned quite a bit about my game last week, played well for a lot of it. Obviously made some big numbers which kept me from being right in contention on Sunday, but I feel like there’s enough good in there to be encouraged going into this week,” said McIlroy in a greenside interview after completing an 18-hole pro-am on the eve of the tournament.
Of going chasing birdies at Riviera, he added: “There’s more opportunities to make big numbers last week than there is this week. There’s not hazards, there’s not water. Obviously it presents a different challenge in itself, this golf course, but I think the fact that I’m hitting a lot of good shots and hitting it close and converting a lot of putts, that has to give me confidence for not just this week but going forward.”
As for getting back to Augusta, McIlroy has been back once before since his Masters win last April. But that was for filming, not playing.
“It was cool to get up to the champions locker room and see my nameplate alongside the other two champions that I share a locker with. Yeah, it was somewhat nostalgic. I wouldn’t say it was emotional but definitely there was nice memories. (There are) different feels the first time staying on site without having to need a member there. There’s a lot of perks you get with being a champion.”
One of those is getting to play with the chairman – and his father – next week. For now, the focus is on Riviera.
Lowdown
Genesis Invitational − PGA Tour
Purse: €16.9 million ($20 million) – €3.38 million ($4 million) to the winner
Where: Riviera Country Club, Los Angeles
The course: Back to a famed course in the Santa Monica Canyon after last year’s event was switched to Torrey Pines due to the wildfires in Los Angeles, Riviera – 7,383 Par 71 – is historically associated with Ben Hogan, who won the 1948 US Open on the track. Designed by architects George C Thomas and William Bell, it first opened for play in 1926 and underwent modifications over time while retaining its original character. It shares of the moniker of “Hogan’s Alley” with the Colonial CC course in Texas and features a number of superb holes while the Kikuyu rough is liable to punish any waywardness off the tee. Riviera has been selected as host course for the 2028 Olympics and is generally viewed as one of the best examinations on tour.
The field: Given its status as one of the PGA Tour’s signature events – with $20m purse and a no-cut field limited to 60 players – the Genesis has attracted a stellar line-up, featuring all top-10 from the official world rankings, headed by Scottie Scheffler who is on a run of 18 top-10 finishes following his tied-fourth in Pebble Beach.
Defending champion: Ludvig Aberg won at Torrey Pines last year and will be looking for an upturn in form after a disappointing start to the season.
Irish in the field: Shane Lowry is grouped with Cameron Young and Viktor Hovland (4.39pm Irish time); Rory McIlroy – whose best finish in the Genesis is tied-fourth in 2019 – is grouped with Tommy Fleetwood and Collin Morikawa (5.08pm Irish time).
Quote-Unquote: “It’s just awesome to see a golf course kind of stand the test of time. It’s just an architectural masterpiece. There wasn’t a bunker or a tree or a slope or a dog-leg that was just by luck happened to be a good design aspect. It seems like everything was super intentional” – Sahith Theegala, who received the Charlie Sifford invite into the event, on how Riviera has stood the test of time.
Betting: No surprise that Scottie Scheffler again heads the market at 3/1 but he will look to get off to a stronger first round start in his quest for a first win in the Genesis, while Rory McIlroy has been installed at 10/1 ... past champion Hideki Matsuyama has run into decent form (second in Phoenix, eighth in Pebble Beach) and is worth a look at 20/1, while another improving Japanese player Ryo Hisatsune – three top-10s in his last three tournaments – looks each-way value at odds of 65/1.
On TV: Sky Sports Golf (3.15pm).
