The final tournament before the season-closing DP World Tour Playoffs comes form South Korea with the Genesis Championship.
That means the tournament offers the final chance for players to secure a place in the top 70 of the Race to Dubai rankings to claim a place in the field for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the chance to make the top 50 that will comprise the field for the season-closing DP World Tour Championship.
There is even more to play for, with those near the top of the rankings eyeing a top-10 finish to claim a PGA Tour card in 2025 with those further down hoping for a final flourish to retain their DP World Tour membership for next season.
Last year, Pablo Larrazabal claimed his eighth DP World Tour win at the Korea Championship, which was held at the course, but that event has since merged with the Korean Tour’s Genesis Championship, which was also held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea. As a result, there’s a second defending champion this week – Park Sang-hyun, who won in a playoff in 2023.
While both players will be hopeful of lifting the trophy, much of the attention will be on PGA Tour stars Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An, who are playing in their homeland.
In this article, a few of the Golf Monthly team share their favorite and outside picks for the 2024 Genesis Championship…
Pablo Larazzabal won the 2023 Korea Championship, which merged with the Genesis Championship for 2024
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Genesis Championship Golf Betting Preview 2024: The Course
Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea was designed by the legendary 18-Major winner and opened in 2010.
As well as the Genesis Championship and last year’s Korea Championship, it has also hosted other high-profile contests, most notably the 2015 Presidents Cup and the 2018 International Crown on the LPGA Tour.
The par-72 course, which is situated within a modern residential development, exceeds 7,400 yards, while there are four par-3s and four par-5s, the longest being the 593-yard third.
There are rolling fairways of bentgrass throughout, with white sand bunkers and water on 11 of the holes, where the lakes often have artificial rocks to give this inland course – with high-rise buildings as its backdrop – a distinctly coastal feel at times. Three of the par-3s also play over the water. Meanwhile, a creek straddles the 14th before players reach the undulating green, making it one of the most memorable of the layout.
Scores have been varied through the years, with Kim Seung-hyuk’s -18 in a thumping eight-shot win seven years ago a standout, while on other occasions, it has been considerably harder.
Overall, it’s a course that will appeal to any kind of golfer, with enough length to challenge the biggest hitter, but enough nuance and variety to ensure strategy is imperative.
The the 14th has a creek before an undulating green
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Genesis Championship Previous Winners
| Year | Champion | Winning Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 (as Korea Championship) | Pablo Larrazabal | -12 (two strokes) |
| 2023 | Park Sang-hyun | -17 (playoff) |
| 2022 | Kim Yeong-su | -6 (one stroke) |
| 2021 | Lee Jae-kyeong | -14 (two strokes) |
| 2020 | Kim Tae-hoon | -6 (two strokes) |
| 2019 | Sungjae Im | -6 (two strokes) |
| 2018 | Lee Tae-hee | -7 (two strokes) |
| 2017 | Kim Seung-hyuk | -18 (eight strokes) |
Genesis Championship Betting Odds
The odds to win outright are via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Tom Kim (+700)
- Byeong Hun An (+850)
- Nicolai Hojgaard (+2000)
- Yannik Paul (+2500)
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+2500)
- Sebastian Soderberg (+2500)
- Guido Migliozzo (+2500)
- Johannes Veerman (+2800)
- Keita Nakajima (+3000)
- Antoine Rozner (+3000)
- Calum Hill (+3300)
- Joost Luiten (+3300)
- Richard Mansell (+3300)
- Rikuya Hoshino (+3500)
- Gavin Green (+4000)
- Brandon Stone (+4000)
- Aaron Cockerill (+4500)
- Adrien Sadler (+4500)
- Francesco Laporta (+5000)
- Yubin Jung (+5000)
- Tom Vaillant (+5500)
- Daniel Hillier (+5500)
- David Mucheluzzi (+6000)
- Shubhankar Sharma (+7000)
- Haotong Li (+7000)
Genesis Championship Betting Picks
Barry Plummer
Last time out: Picked David Puig (T12th) and Brandon Stone (T17th) at the Andalucia Masters.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
FAVORITE: Guido Migliozzi (+2500)
Migliozzi is showing signs of returning to the strong form he displayed earlier in the season, with an eight-place finish at the Omega European Masters and an 18th-place finish in France last time out.
The Italian was 14th in Korea last season, and has some great form on correlating courses. He won the KLM Open earlier this season, a competition with interesting links to this week’s event, and has also finished in the top-10 at the BMW International Open.
Migliozzi has gained on the field in all five key strokes gained measures this season, and could be ready to kick into gear once again.
OUTSIDER: Rikuya Hoshino (+3500)
Hoshino has gone under the radar a little bit in recent weeks, but is sneakily playing some good golf with seven consecutive cuts made and some very low rounds thrown into the mix.
He secured his first DP World Tour win earlier this season in Qatar, and followed up with a 6th place finish at the KLM Open and a 10th place finish at the BMW International Open – two courses I like for comparisons this week. He was also 8th at the Omega European Masters, and fits a very similar profile to that of Migliozzi this season. In this case, however, he is nearly twice the price, and I believe represents excellent each-way value.
Last time out: Picked Jon Rahm (6th) and Matthew Jordan (MC) at the Andalucia Masters.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
FAVORITE: Nicolai Hojgaard (+2000)
The Dane comes into the Genesis Championship needing a good result to make it into the top 70 of the Race To Dubai standings and wrap up a spot at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which is why he is my pick this week.
There’s no denying that Hojgaard is a quality player who seems to perform when the pressure is on and, in the past two weeks, he has drawn up two top-20 finishes which indicates his game is trending in the right direction.
What’s more, looking at last year’s winner, Pablo Larrazabal, he led the Greens In Regulation stats for that week and, if you were to look at Hojgaard’s numbers, he currently ranks ninth in that department, so his game is suited to the course.
The biggest decider will be his accuracy off the tee, we know he has the distance so, if the big stick is working, I can see him picking up a fourth DP World Tour win.
OUTSIDER: Gavin Green (+4000)
Green has enjoyed a number of fine results over the past few months, with the Malaysian racking up a top-10 finish at the British Masters and finishing in a tie for 13th at the Open de France just a fortnight ago.
Last year, Green finished in a share of 14th in this event and, had it not been for a double bogey in the first round and a triple bogey in the third, he could have arguably jumped up the leaderboard further.
Like Hojgaard, he is ranked just outside the top 70 of the Race To Dubai standings so, another strong showing would wrap up his spot in the playoffs, which is why I think he will do well at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea course.
Jonny Leighfield
Last time out: Picked Niklas Norgaard (T28th) and Richard Mansell (MC) at the Andalucia Masters.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
FAVORITE: Byeong Hun An (+850)
In a strange field where no one is really the stand-out player form-wise, I have to believe one of the PGA Tour’s best should enjoy a good week in Korea. An is a monster hitter, regularly 10-20 yards in front of his rivals off the tee, plus his approach play has been dynamite this season – a key facet on a course with tricky greens.
He can also hold his own around the green and is capable of getting hot with the putter, so I’m backing him to outlast outright favorite Tom Kim and win for the first time since 2022 (Korn Ferry Tour).
OUTSIDER: Francesco Laporta (+5000)
The Italian needs a really good week to make the DP World Tour playoffs, so expect him to leave nothing out there. He’s not one of the longest but his prodigious accuracy usually sees him pick up shots on the field off the tee.
Couple that an approach game which is certainly trending in the right direction and two recent results which inspire confidence (T6th, T20th), I fancy the Italian to find himself up the right end of the leaderboard once again this week.
How To Watch The Genesis Championship
USA (ET)
- Wednesday, October 23 – Round One: 11:00pm – 4:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Thursday, October 24 – Round Two: 11:00pm – 4:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Friday, October 25 – Round Three: 11:30pm – 4:00am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Saturday, October 26 – Round Four: 10:30pm – 3:30am (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
UK (BST)
- Thursday, October 24 – Round One: 8:00am – 9:00am (Sky Sports Golf), 10:00am – 3:00pm tape-delayed (Sky Sports Golf)
- Friday, October 25 – Round Two: 8:00am – 9:00am (Sky Sports Golf), 10:00am – 3:00pm tape-delayed (Sky Sports Golf)
- Saturday, October 26 – Round Three: 8:00am – 9:00am (Sky Sports Golf), 10:30am – 3:00pm tape-delayed (Sky Sports Golf)
- Sunday, October 27 – Round Four: 7:00am – 7:30pm (Sky Sports Golf), 10:00am – 3:00pm tape-delayed (Sky Sports Golf)
