Tiger Woods admitted he has far greater concerns than the status of next month’s Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour event that he has hosted since 2019.
With wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area, Woods said that real life carries more weight than the event that is slated to be held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades from Feb. 13-16.
“It’s just sad,” Woods told reporters in the SoFi Center after his debut TGL match on Tuesday. “Max (Homa) and I have grown up there. We’re SoCal kids. To see what has happened, I’ve known a couple of people who lost everything, so it’s just hard.
“As far as the Genesis, we’re just trying to figure everything out and make sure that everyone is safe and we have meetings scheduled going forward. But as of right now, we’re not really focused on the tournament. It’s more about what we can do to help everyone who’s struggling, who has lost homes and had their lives changed.”
Riviera was spared from the fires despite being in the mandatory evacuation zone. The PGA Tour hasn’t made a final decision on whether it will be held there.
Homa, Woods’ TGL teammate, said golf should not be the primary focus right now.
“I know that these natural disasters happen far too often. However, this was the first one I can remember where every news clip, every time someone mentioned an area, I could picture it so well,” Homa said. “It was very eerie. Fortunately, all my friends and family are safe. Houses not necessarily still all intact, but it was nice to be able to talk to quite a few people, and I think their perspective has been amazing about, ‘Hey, we’re safe, and that’s what matters most.'”
–Field Level Media
