Culver City Observer -

The 2024 Genesis Invitational week at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades got off to a fine start on Monday under ideal weather conditions with Cole Rueck defeating Petr Hruby with a birdie on the second playoff hole to win the 2024 Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase. The 10th edition of the event featured 15 collegiate players who also competed in team play with their respective amateur group.

Rueck, a Boise State University sophomore, secured the win on the 11th green over Hruby, a University of Washington Huskie senior. Rueck earned an exemption into this season's Genesis Scottish Open in July. Both players finished tied after 18 holes at even-par 71 and began the playoff on Riviera's 10th hole with a par. Rueck took advantage of Hruby's shot into the greenside bunker on the par-5 11th hole with a chip shot and a 7-foot putt.

In qualifying for the Genesis Scottish Open, Rueck benefits by earning PGA TOUR U points along with the possibility of qualifying into The Open as final qualifying for is the week prior to the Genesis Scottish Open. He can also turn professional and play as a pro in the tournament, which is a co-sanctioned PGA TOUR and DP World Tour event. Hruby's effort playing with an amateur group won the team competition and earned the University of Washington golf program a $50,000 donation.

The final scoreboard included USC senior Shane Ffrench who finished tied for 13th at 6-over par: Tie 1st E (71)- Cole Rueck, Boise State University; Petr Hruby, University of Washington. Tie 3rd +1 (72) - Caleb Shetler, San Jose State University; Chuan-Tai Lin, University of Washington; Riccardo Fantinelli, Princeton University. Tied 6th +2 (73) - Kristof Panke, University of Wyoming, Sangha Park, University of Texas Permian Basin.

Finishing 8th +3 (74) - Kristopher Stiles, San Jose State University. Tied 9th +4 (75) - Taehoon Song, University of Washington; Bo Peng, University of Washington. Tied 11th +5 (76) - Andrew McLauchlan, Wake Forest University; Michael Brennan, Wake Forest University. Tied 13th +6 (77) - Daniel Sheedy, Wake Forest University; Shane Ffrench, University of Southern California; and Nathan Han, Columbia University.

The PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational starts this Thursday, February 15, and will feature tournament Host Tiger Woods making his 2024 PGA TOUR debut. This will be the 8th consecutive year Woods has hosted the event with Genesis at The Riv. It will be the 98th playing of the event formerly known as the Los Angeles Open which began in 1926. This is the 60th time Riviera Country Club will host the event which beginning in 1929.

Fred Altieri

Tiger Woods will compete at Riviera Country Club for the 16th time

The Genesis is one of eight signature events on the PGA TOUR schedule with 71 players competing for a $20 million purse. The winner will earn $4 million and 700 PGA TOUR FedExCup points and will feature a 36-hole cut for the top 50 plus ties and any player within 10 shots of the lead. This year's field is one of the strongest in golf and features 22 of the top 24 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Featured players include: Tiger Woods, 82-time PGA TOUR winner, 15-time major champion; Scottie Scheffler, World No. 1, 2022 Masters champion; Rory McIlroy, World No. 2, 24-time PGA TOUR winner; Viktor Hovland - World No. 4, six-time PGA TOUR champion and 2023 PGA TOUR FedExCup champion; Xander Schauffele, World No. 5, seven-time PGA TOUR champion; Wyndham Clark, World No. 6 and 2023 U.S. Open champion; Patrick Cantlay, World No. 7, eight-time PGA TOUR winner, UCLA product and Long Beach native; Max Homa, World No. 8, 2021 tournament champion and Valencia native; Matt Fitzpatrick, World No. 9, 2022 U.S. Open winner; and Brian Harman - World No. 10 and 2023 Open Championship winner.