This week takes us the LaLa Land for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in a valley by Pacific Palisades.
The tournament has a top-notch field but a lot of the major news this week comes from a player not in the field – tournament official host Tiger Woods.
Woods is the host of the Genesis much the same as Jack Nicklaus if for the Memorial.
Tuesday saw Woods hold a press conference on the state of Tiger, as well as some possible moves the PGA Tour may be making in the 1-2 years.
As for his playing, Woods is coming off a 2025 where for the first time since turning professional, Woods did not play in a tournament.
He had surgery in March of last year for a ruptured Achilles tendon, which is no longer bothering him. Then in October he had disc replacement surgery and at this point, has no timetable for return.
But when asked if playing in the Masters, which begins August 9, was off the table, his response was – no.
He is also on the Board of the PGA Tour and there has been talks about perhaps moving Torrey Pines and Riviera back to August and starting the Tour season right around the Super Bowl.
As for the tournament, it returns after one year off because of the Pacific Palisades fires as the club turns 100 years old.
When the tournament was last played in 2024, Hideki Matsuyama won the tournament, closing with a 62 in the final round.
Some of the pairings for the first two rounds include Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Collin Morikawa; Scottie Sheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Si Woo Kim; Chris Gotterup, Robert MacIntyre, and Justin Rose.
The television schedule is: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m-4 p.m. on Golf Channel. Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-12 noon on Golf Channel, then 12 noon-4 p.m. on CBS on Saturday and 12 noon-3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
By Dennis Miller