Feb. 13, 2024 09:56 AM EST

Tiger Woods Returns With Pga Tour's Top Players At Riviera

By The Associated Press
FILE - Tiger Woods watches his shot on the fourth tee during the third round of the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour at the Albany Golf Club, in New Providence, Bahamas, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. Tiger Woods confirmed Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 he will make his first PGA Tour start since the Masters at the Genesis Invitational next week at Riviera, a tournament he hosts. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File) Fernando Llano, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Tiger Woods watches his shot on the fourth tee during the third round of the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour at the Albany Golf Club, in New Providence, Bahamas, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. Tiger Woods confirmed Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 he will make his first PGA Tour start since the Masters at the Genesis Invitational next week at Riviera, a tournament he hosts. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)

PGA TOUR

GENESIS INVITATIONAL

Site: Los Angeles.

Course: Riviera CC. Yardage: 7,322. Par: 71.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner's share: $4 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-7 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS).

Previous winner: Jon Rahm.

FedEx Cup leader: Matthieu Pavon.

Last week: Nick Taylor won the WM Phoenix Open.

Notes: Tiger Woods makes his first PGA Tour start since the Masters because of ankle surgery. This is a signature event with a limited field. Woods, the tournament host, is playing on a sponsor exemption. ... Woods has played Riviera 12 times as a pro without ever having won, the most he has played any course without winning. ... Because it's one of three “player hosted” events, the winner gets $4 million instead of $3.6 million. The player-hosted signature events also have a cut to the top 50 and ties. ... This is the third time this year a PGA Tour event won't have a defending champion because of Jon Rahm defecting to LIV Golf. ... FedEx Cup leader Matthieu Pavon and Justin Rose chose not to play. ... Sponsor exemptions went to Woods, Adam Scott, Will Zalatoris and Gary Woodland. ... Chase Johnson is playing on the Charlie Sifford exemption awarded to players promoting diversity in golf. ... Six of the last 10 winners at Riviera are now with LIV Golf. ... Riviera is hosting the U.S. Women's Open in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028.

Next week: Mexico Open at Vidanta.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

CHUBB CLASSIC

Site: Naples, Florida.

Course: Tiburon GC. Yardage: 6,909. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1.8 million. Winner's share: $270,000.

Television: Friday, noon to 3 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3-5:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: Bernhard Langer.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.

Last tournament: Steven Alker for the Mitsubishi Championship at Hualalai.

Notes: The PGA Tour Champions resumes after three weeks off but is missing its defending champion. Bernhard Langer had surgery on his Achilles tendon and likely will be out the bulk of the year. ... Notah Begay III received one of the two sponsor exemptions. ... Davis Love III will be making his Chubb Classic debut. ... Padraig Harrington is playing after spending two weeks on the European tour. He missed the cut in the Dubai Desert Classic and tied for 70th in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship. ... Langer has won the Chubb Classic five times. No one else has won it more than twice since the tournament began in 1988. ... Steve Stricker has twice been runner-up and won the Chubb Classic over the last six years. ... The tournament features four Hall of Fame members in Love, Ernie Els, Fred Couples and Colin Montgomerie. The list doesn't include Harrington, who is to be inducted at Pinehurst this year during the U.S. Open.

Next week: Trophy Hassan II.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

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LPGA TOUR

Last tournament: Nelly Korda won the Drive On Championship.

Next week: Honda LPGA Thailand.

Race to CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

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LIV GOLF LEAGUE

Last week: Dustin Johnson won LIV Golf Las Vegas.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Jeddah on March 1-3.

Points leader: Dustin Johnson.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

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EUROPEAN TOUR

Last week: Rikuya Hoshino won the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Next week: Magical Kenya Open.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

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KORN FERRY TOUR

Last week: Kevin Velo won the Astara Golf Championship.

Next tournament: Argentina Open on Feb. 29-March 3.

Points leader: Aldrich Potgieter.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/

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OTHER TOURS

Ladies European Tour: Aramco Saudi Ladies International, Riyadh GC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Television: Thursday-Friday, 5-9 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 5:30-9:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 4:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel). Defending champion: Lydia Ko. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

Asian Tour: IRS Prima Malaysian Open, The Mines Resort & GC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Defending champion: Trevor Simsby. Online: https://asiantour.com/

Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour: Dimension Data Pro-Am, Fancourt Golf Estate, George, South Africa. Defending champion: Oliver Bekker. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/ and https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/

PGA Tour of Australasia: Webex Players Series Hunter Valley, Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort, Pokolbin, Australia. Defending champion: Brett Coletta. Online: https://pga.org.au/

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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