Who Are The Sponsor's Invites For The Genesis Invitational?

Max Homa stands on the first tee box at Riviera Country Club during the 2024 Genesis Invitational — (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Genesis Invitational marks the final tournament in the PGA Tour's West-Coast Swing and the second Signature Event of the year, following on from last week's richly entertaining AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Each pro is battling it out for the lion's share of a $20 million prize money payout and an increased number of FedEx Cup points.

But first thing's first, make the cut. This week is one of only three Signature Events to have a 36-hole cut, with Tiger Woods insisting on the rule when agreeing to host the tournament.

And for each of the five players who have been given exemptions of some kind, each will be desperate to make the most of their opportunity and play the weekend before finishing as high up the leaderboard as possible.

Tiger Woods and Ludvig Aberg pose with the Genesis Invitational trophy after the Swede's win in 2025

For the second week in a row, Tony Finau has accepted a sponsor exemption into a Signature Event. Following an 18th-place finish at Pebble Beach, Finau will be aiming to build on his record of top-20s when playing all four rounds this year.

Through five starts in 2026, the 36-year-old has missed three cuts but finished T11th (Farmers Insurance Open) and 18th (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am). The six-time PGA Tour winner also finished T5th at this event last year and was runner-up in both 2021 and 2018.

Joining Finau as a sponsor invite is Max Homa, the 2021 Genesis Invitational champion. Homa's start to the year has been fairly uninspiring courtesy of one missed cut and a best of T21st from three appearances, but his record at Riviera is excellent of late, so there is plenty of hope for another six-time PGA Tour winner.

Between 2020 and 2024, Homa finished T5th-Win-T10th-2nd-T16th, suggesting he has what it takes to rediscover some form in his home state.

Tom Kim is the third sponsor exemption in this week's field, but neither his recent form or historic results at this tournament are anything to shout about.

Kim has struggled to return to the top following his win at the 2023 Shriners Children's Open, but will hope a chance in one of the big-money Signature Events is the spark he needs to kick on again.

The Korean has played in this tournament three times since 2023 with a best result of T24th and no missed cuts. His four appearances in 2026 have seen him end between T35th and T65th.

The final sponsor exemption handed out this week was to Adam Scott - a two-time champion of this event. Scott first claimed the title at the 2005 Nissan Open before later repeating the feat in the Invitational era's maiden running (2020).

Scott finished last season 62nd in the FedEx Cup standings so didn't automatically qualify for the elevated group of tournaments this year. However, given his prestigious career, he might be expected to be given exemptions into further Signature Events in 2026.

In case you were wondering how sponsor exemptions are decided, I spoke to Tracy West - the tournament director of both the Valspar Championship and the 3M Open - in October last year and she explained that each tournament is allowed to pick whoever they want.

She said: "It totally differs by the tournament. Some tournaments, the title sponsor gets super involved, you know, and says, "Yep, we want to sit down and talk about it together and you know, let's look at lists and guys and who should we pick?

"Some titles don't care. They're like, 'Hey, you guys are the experts, you guys make the decisions.'

Tony Finau hits a driver off the tee — Tony Finau is playing on a sponsor's exemption for the second week in a row

"Some have their host or like their 501c3 board gets very involved. Some don't. Some it's just the tournament director picking, right? I mean, so it varies across every tournament."

Rounding out the group of five invited pros at the Genesis Invitational is Sahith Theegala who earned the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption this time around.

Theegala made his PGA Tour debut in this event back in 2017 after winning the Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase at Riviera Country Club and went on to record a best result of T6th when he returned as a pro in 2023.

He has begun the season in promising style, too, with two top-10s and a top-20 in five starts with no missed cuts retaining his tidy record.

GENESIS INVITATIONAL EXEMPTIONS 2026

Tony Finau (Sponsor Exemption)
Max Homa (Sponsor Exemption)
Tom Kim (Sponsor Exemption)
Adam Scott (Sponsor Exemption)
Sahith Theegala (Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption)

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.

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