By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-16 21:52:07 | Updated at 2025-01-17 05:49:05
8 hours ago
The PGA Tour has made the decision to move one of its signature events, the Genesis Invitational, away from the Greater Los Angeles area as wildfires continue to ravage the city.
The Genesis Invitational was slated to be hosted by Tiger Woods between February 13 and February 16 at Riviera Country Club - the iconic golf course located in Pacific Palisades.
The Tour announced Thursday that it had made the call to relocate the event away from Riviera as the Pacific Palisades neighborhood lies devastated by the infernos over the past week.
The organization did not confirm the alternate venue but said that further updates would be provided in the coming days.
'The PGA Tour's focus continues to be on the safety and well-being of those affected by the unprecedented natural disaster in Greater Los Angeles,' a statement from the organization read.
'We are grateful for the lifesaving efforts of first responders and the tireless work being done to put an end to the tragic wildfires.
The PGA Tour has taken the decision to relocate the Genesis Invitation away from Los Angeles
Tiger Woods had been scheduled to host the PGA Tour event at Riviera Country Club
'In collaboration with Genesis, The Riviera Country Club and TGR Live, and out of respect for the unfolding situation, we have determined that the 2025 Genesis Invitational will be played at an alternate location the week of February 10-16. A venue update and additional tournament information will be provided in the coming days.
'The PGA TOUR is identifying the most impactful ways the tournament can support the Los Angeles community and the ongoing relief efforts.'
TPC Scottsdale in Arizona had been mooted as a potential replacement venue, according to Golf Digest.
The golf course could be in line to pull double duty with the WM Phoenix Open scheduled to be held on the Stadium Course the week prior.
It wouldn't be the first time a golf course has hosted back-to-back events on the Tour. In 2020, Muirfield Village hosted the Workday Charity Open and the Memorial Tournament in consecutive weeks.
The Genesis, formerly known as the Los Angeles Open, is one of the elevated signature events on the PGA Tour's calendar with a $20million prize purse.
The tournament was the site of Woods' PGA Tour debut as a high school student in 1992 and the 49-year-old has hosted the tournament since 2019.
Established in 1926 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, Riviera has played host to a PGA Tour event every year since 1973 with the exception of 1983 and 1998.
The glamorous Pacific Palisades neighborhood has been reduced to ash and rubble
Now, 2025 will also go down as an exception with the devastating wildfires forcing the PGA Tour to be absent from the near-100-year-old course.
The once luxurious and glamorous Pacific Palisades enclave has been completely razed after a catastrophic blaze - one of the six to have torn through Los Angeles - reduced multi-million-dollar homes to piles of rubble and left the neighborhood in a smoldering apocalyptic hellscape.
Six fires have erupted across the greater LA area since last Tuesday, killing at least 25 people and burning more than 12,000 homes and other structures.
Firefighters are still battling the Palisades Fire, which is the most destructive blaze in LA history, as well as the Eaton and Hurst fires. The three other blazes are now fully contained.
Riviera, one of the most historic in the United States, had fallen within the evacuation zone.
Riviera is also slated to host the 2026 US Women's Open, the golf events for the LA 2028 Olympics and the 2031 US Open.
It also hosted the Los Angeles Open in 1929, 1930 and from 1945-53, along with the 1948 US Open and the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1995.
