The Genesis Invitational will take place away from Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades for the first time since 1998 and outside of Los Angeles County for the first time in the event’s near century in existence.
Tournament sponsor Tiger Woods told reporters Monday that the decision to move the invitational was “very difficult” but ultimately necessary after the firestorms wreaked havoc around L.A. in recent weeks.
While Riviera somehow went unscathed, Woods said the club “is just not ready” to host a signature PGA Tour event with a $20-million purse after the Palisades fire scorched more than 23,400 acres, destroyed more than 6,800 structures and killed at least 12 people.
The Genesis Invitational’s organizers announced last week that the Feb. 13-16 event will be moved, for this year only, to Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla and “will include a number of Los Angeles-related relief initiatives.” While no information has been released about those relief efforts, Woods indicated that they played a large role in the decision to keep the event as close by as possible.
“I think it’s important that we were able to stay in Southern California because everyone who’s born and raised out in Southern Cal can all relate to the fires,” Woods said following a TGL match Monday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “It’s a difficult situation, and we want to be very sensitive to that, and I think that because we’re in Southern California, I think we’re going to be able to raise more money for all the losses that have incurred.”
Woods said the organizers were determined to keep the event out West and also considered moving it to Pebble Beach, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
“There were so many different options out on the table,” Woods said, “and we were trying to be understanding to all the victims.”
The Genesis Invitational started as the Los Angeles Open in 1926. It was first hosted at Riviera in 1929 and has been held there 60 times, with a return already slated for 2026.
