The Northern Irishman, who returned to the top of the world rankings earlier this week, leads a star-studded field, featuring nine of the world’s 10 top golfers.
According to Oddschecker, McIlroy arrives in California as a 15/2 favorite to pick up his first win of the year.
So far in 2020 McIlroy has started just one tournament, finishing third in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, California, last month.
The third-place marked the fourth consecutive time in his last four starts that the 30-year-old has finished in the top four.
Such consistency has played a pivotal role in McIlroy overtaking Brooks Koepka at the top of the world rankings earlier this week, as he reclaimed top spot for the first time in over four years.
The four-time major winner, however, does not have a particularly good record at Riviera Country Club. McIlroy has played the event only three times, finishing tied for 20th in 2016 and 2018 and tied for fourth last year.
Behind the Northern Irishman, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm are second and third-favorite at 9/1 and 10/1 respectively.
Thomas finished tied for ninth at Riviera Country Club in 2018 and second last year and arrives in California in excellent form, with three wins under his belt since August and a tied-third place finish at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, Arizona, last week.
Rahm, meanwhile, has finished in the top-10 in each of his last four starts, including two second-place finishes.
Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods are next in line at 14/1 and 18/1, while Patrick Cantlay is a 20/1 outsider.
Johnson has arguably the best record of any player in the field at Riviera Country Club, having won the event in 2017 and finishing in the top five a further six times.
For Woods, meanwhile, the Genesis Invitational—which was known as Genesis Open up until this year—has proved bittersweet.
The 44-year-old made his PGA Tour debut at the event as amateur in 1992 but has never won in 12 appearances. In his two starts he’s made at Riviera since 2006, Woods missed the cut in 2018 and finished tied for 15th last year.
Woods’ foundation will host the tournament this year and a maiden win on the 18-hole, 71-par course would make Tiger the most successful golfer in the history of the PGA Tour with 83 titles.
Cantlay, meanwhile, tied for fourth at Riviera two years ago and finished tied for 15th last year. The world No. 6 arrives into the tournament following a tied for 11th finish in the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach last week and has three top-25 finishes in four starts this year.
At 22/1, Bubba Watson could represent great value for money. The American has won the event three times and arrives at Riviera on the back of two top-10 finishes in his last two starts.
Justin Rose, meanwhile, is a 40/1 outsider after an underwhelming start to the year—he missed the cut in the only event he’s played so far.
The Englishman, however, remains one of the best strikers of the ball in golf and his tied for fourth finish tied at Riviera three years ago means he can’t be underestimated.
Among the long shots, Max Homa is arguably the most intriguing of all. The 29-year-old is a 90/1 outsider, but arrives at the Genesis Invitational in excellent form, having made the cut in the last seven starts, which included three consecutive top-15 finishes.
