6 LIV Golfers To Have Won The Genesis Invitational

The Genesis Invitational is one of the most prestigious on the PGA Tour, with a long list of winners going back almost 100 years to 1926, when it was known as the Los Angeles Open.

Among its victors have also been six players who now compete on the LIV Golf League. Here are the stories of how and when they finished on top of the leaderboard at the Riviera Country Club tournament.

Charles Howell III - 2007

Nowadays, 44-year-old Charles Howell III is one of the most experienced LIV Golf players on its roster, having joined the circuit as a veteran of 609 PGA Tour appearances.

One of those came at the 2007 edition of the tournament, then known as the Nissan Open, when the then 27-year-old beat Phil Mickelson after a third playoff hole to claim prize money of $936,000 and his second PGA Tour win.

Before that, Howell III had been a runner-up on the Tour 10 times, including twice in the opening months of 2007, while the victory came over four years after his maiden PGA Tour title at the 2002 Michelob Championship.

It was almost another near miss for Howell III, who had Mickelson to thank for fluffing two four-foot putts on the back nine, but even then Lefty only needed a par on the 18th. He contrived to bogey and leave the door open for Howell III.

Afterwards, Howell III admitted he thought his chance had gone. “That tournament was over,” he said. “I gave him a 90% chance of getting up and down.”

Phil Mickelson - 2008 and 2009

While Mickelson perhaps only had himself to blame for not claiming the title in 2007, he made no mistake over the next two years at the event that was by then known as the Northern Trust Open.

In 2008, he finally took the title 20 years after his first appearance at Riviera Country Club following a round of 70 on the Sunday that saw him beat Jeff Quinney by two shots.

"Last year was really the first year I played well here, and to break through with a victory feels terrific,” he said after his win, which was his 33rd on the PGA Tour. Even then, he had to contend with a few wobbles of his own and some brilliant putting from Quinney before finally laying the demons of a year earlier to rest.

The year after, Mickelson made hard work of it again, this time surrendering a four-shot lead at the start of the final round to find himself two adrift of Steve Stricker with four to play.

Finally, he began showing his best – and in the nick of time - with birdies at the 16th and 17th. He found himself needing a par at the 18th to win. He held his nerve from five feet to achieve just that and claim his second successive title.

Bubba Watson - 2014, 2016 and 2018

Bubba Watson remains the LIV Golf player with the most wins at the tournament, after victories in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Just a couple of weeks before the first of those, Watson had blown his chance of the Phoenix Open title with two late bogeys and, perhaps inspired by that, he didn’t get close to allowing history to repeat itself.

Watson’s final 39 holes at Riviera Country Club were bogey-free. Despite that, he began the final round four behind William McGirt, but a seven-under 64 saw him ease home by two shots, with Dustin Johnson his nearest challenger.

Two years later, Watson was two behind with just four to play, but two birdies in the last three saw him finish one ahead of Jason Kokrak and Adam Scott as he emerged victorious over a strong field for his ninth PGA Tour win.

“When you come to Hollywood, there's a lot of things you can do. It's fun. And winning is the cake," Watson said after the victory.

In 2018, Watson moved alongside greats Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer with three wins at the event, by now called the Genesis Open. The victory was his first in two years, and was helped in the final round by a combination of solid putting, dropped shots by others and a hole-out on the par-3 14th to eventually finish two ahead of Kevin Na and Tony Finau.

Dustin Johnson - 2017

Between Watson’s second and third wins came Dustin Johnson’s one victory at the tournament to date.

Despite needing to finish his third round on the Sunday morning due to rain and fog the day before, Johnson made easy work of his victory. He began his final round five shots ahead and at one point was virtually out of sight with a nine-shot lead before eventually easing home by five ahead of Scott Brown and Thomas Pieters.

At that stage of his career, Johnson was entering an imperious spell of his career, typified by a stretch of 49 holes without a bogey during the tournament. The win was all the sweeter as it handed him his first visit to the top of the world rankings, too, with Jason Day moving aside after 47 weeks.

Joaquin Niemann - 2022

The Chilean became the first wire-to-wire winner of the event in 53 years to claim his second PGA Tour victory after rounds of 63, 63, 68 and 71. 

As that final number suggests, there were some edgy moments for him on the Sunday, with rookie Cameron Young and Open champion Collin Morikawa in pursuit, but a chip-in for eagle on the par-5 11th settled the nerves and he eventually closed out a two-shot win.

It was also the first time a 23-year-old had won the event since Phil Rodgers 50 years earlier – an occasion that marked the pro debut of Jack Nicklaus.

Just six months later, it was announced that Niemann had joined LIV Golf.

Jon Rahm - 2023

The Spaniard began 2023 as though he meant business after some struggles in 2022, not helped by some poor form with his putter. Those issues appeared a distant memory as he rattled off wins at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and American Express, before a T7 at the Farmers Insurance Open and third at the WM Phoenix Open leading to the visit to Riviera Country Club.

Much of the attention was on Tiger Woods that week, who, an appearance at the family-friendly PNC Championship aside, was making his first competitive start since the 150th Open the previous summer.

However, Rahm wasn’t about to let that divert his attention from the task at hand. He began the final round three ahead of nearest challenger Max Homa, and though the American remained in touch throughout the day, Rahm eventually closed out a two-shot win to become the third-fastest player to win three PGA Tour events before 1 March.

The win also saw Rahm begin a fifth spell at the top of the world rankings, taking over from Scottie Scheffler.