Tiger Woods returns to the Beginning Invitational in Los Angeles

Finally on the field, at the Genesis Invitational, the former No. 1 player has not been in an official tournament since last April. It’s the beginning of a new course: he left Nike and presented his clothing brand, Sun Day Red

Matthew Dore

February 14, 2024 (modified at 7.35pm)

He has not competed in an official tournament since last April, when he withdrew from the Masters limping due to leg pain. Tiger Woods returns to the field at the Genesis Invitational, a PGA Tour tournament scheduled from February 15 to 18 at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, just outside of Los Angeles. Since that day in Augusta, Tiger had only appeared at the Warrior World Championship and then a few days later at the PNC Championship with his son Charlie, two unofficial races.

The Big Cat, who turned 48 at the end of December, continues to be the man around whom the entire golf world revolves. At the end of December he did not renew his contract with Nike, the brand that has accompanied him throughout his life since 1996 when he turned professional, and it is in Los Angeles that he will play for the first time with the new brand. A line of clothing and golf accessories that he presented the other day, in collaboration with Taylor Made, he called Sun Day Red. A clear and iconic reference to the red shirt that he wore every Sunday and which therefore accompanied and symbolized all his victories. The logo is a stylized tiger with 15 strokes, a reference to the 15 Majors he won in his career.

his eyes

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The Genesis Invitational has a prize pool of $20 million (four million to the winner) and where 23 of the top twenty-five players in the world rankings will be in the field, including number one Scottie Scheffler. So Tiger is not a favorite, but the audience will only have eyes for him. Woods is in his 374th appearance and is making his 16th appearance at the Genesis Invitational, which he has never won, but where he made his PGA Tour debut in 1992 as a 16-year-old, making it to the top. In 2023 he finished 45th, the last time he completed 72 holes. And in 2021, while in the Los Angeles area, after attending a tournament as a spectator following another back surgery, Woods was involved in a car accident in Ranchos Palos Verdes, endangering his life and career .

who is there

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The field is of the highest quality, with Rory McIlroy having the opportunity, by winning, to regain the number one position in the world. Jon Rahm, the number three, the reigning champion who moved to LIV Golf, will not be there, but Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa (who scored in 2021), Matt Fitzpatrick and Brian will also make the match special. Harman, ie those who finish the top ten in order.