Tiger Woods said Tuesday that no decisions have been made regarding the status of next month’s Genesis Invitational as the area continues to deal with devastating wildfires.
Woods, who grew up near Anaheim, California, said after his debut TGL match in South Florida that “there are so many other things that are bigger” than the staging of the Tour’s $20 million signature event that benefits his foundation. The Genesis is held at Riviera, which so far has not sustained any damage but is located in hard-hit Pacific Palisades.
“It’s just sad,” Woods told reporters in the SoFi Center. “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.”
The Tour said in a memo to players last week that it is still monitoring the situation in Southern California, with the possibility that the event, scheduled for Feb. 13-16, could be moved elsewhere.
Woods hasn’t competed in an official event since the Open Championship last July. In the fall, he underwent another back surgery before returning to play with son Charlie at the PNC Championship last month.
Woods said that his health isn’t the issue at the moment. “It’s my game is not very good,” he said.
Homa, a former winner of the Genesis who is part of Woods’ TGL team, said that “it seems silly at the moment to be overly focused on a golf tournament when people are still continuing to have this go on and living in a bit of fear in SoCal.”
