This Week in Golf: All Eyes on Tiger Woods as he returns to action at The Genesis Invitational

The 98th edition of the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational is at The Riviera Country Club, a private club with a championship golf course in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of the Westside of Los Angeles, this week.

The tournament is a Signature Event with an enhanced total prize fund of $20 million and 700 FedEx Cup Points. The winner will pick up a cheque $4 million, a tour exemption through to at least 2027, as well as spots in the next three editions of The Players Championship.

The Genesis Invitational sees the return of tournament host Tiger Woods to competitive golf – the final event of the 2024 West Coast Swing. His last Official PGA Tour start was at The 2023 Masters. Unlike the previous two Signature Events this season. The tournament will have a 36-hole cut to the low 50 players and ties.

The 48-year-old Woods, who has 15 Majors to his name, will be the one to attract all the media and fan attention this week. He currently sits in 893rd place in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

Tiger has never won at Riviera Country Club., but what can we expect from the man who changed golf forever with his exploits during the first decade of the 21st century?

Last year he made the cut in this event, withdrew from The Masters and played in the HERO World Challenge and the PNC Championship in December.

The question is, how fit is he following all his injury challenges?

We’ll know the answer this week.

It is a very tough walk around Riviera Country Club, a tough golf course and an elite field. Entries include Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and 65 of the 67 eligible players in the category entry list and with invites a total field of 71 players with 22 of the top 24 OWGR players are all in action.

Tiger never chooses an easy option. All we know is that it is a must-watch.

The Ladies European Tour returns to the region with the $5 million ARAMCO Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF at Riyadh Golf Club.

The DP World Tour takes a week off following its five weeks in the Middle East before moving to Africa next week.

The Asian Tour is back in action in Malaysia.

Entries for this $1 million event will see Dubai connections Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) and Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), both in the field.

This week’s schedule

PGA Tour

Thursday 15th – Sunday 18th February, 2024

The Genesis Invitational

Venue: The Riviera Country Club, California, US

Purse: $20 million

Ladies European Tour

Thursday 15th – Sunday 18th February, 2024

Purse: ZAR 7,000,000