‘Golf Emperor’ Tiger Woods (USA, 48) will compete in the official US Professional Golf (PGA) Tour tournament in 7 months through the Genesis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars, 25.4 billion won), which he hosts. On the 11th (Korean time), he announced on his social network service (SNS) that he would participate in this tournament by adding the Genesis Invitational Twitter account, saying, “I am ready to participate in the PGA Tour next week.” Woods’ name is also listed on the official website of the tournament. Woods, the 2019 Masters winner, was included in the entry as a ‘Masters winner within the last 5 years’.
The Genesis Invitational, which opens on the 17th at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, USA, is one of the ‘special events’ designated by the PGA Tour, with Korean automobile brand Genesis serving as the title sponsor and Woods serving as the official host. 토토사이트
Woods, who suffered a car accident after hosting the Genesis Invitational as a host rather than a player in February 2021, miraculously returned to the field through the Masters Tournament in April of last year after undergoing a leg rehabilitation process for over a year. After finishing 47th in his return match, he withdrew after the third round at the PGA Championship the following month, skipped the US Open in June, and missed the cut at the Open Championship in July.
In December of last year, he tried to participate in the Hero World Challenge hosted by his foundation, but withdrew his intention to participate because of plantar fasciitis. Afterwards, he participated in open event competitions such as The Match and the PNC Championship, but was unable to show his full form.
The Genesis Invitational, which Woods made his return to for the first time in seven months since The Open in July last year, has another relationship with Woods besides serving as the host. Woods made his unofficial debut on the PGA Tour in 1992 when he was a 17-year-old amateur at the Nissan LA Open, the predecessor of the Genesis Invitational. The venue at the time was the same Riviera Country Club as this time. However, Woods has not been able to reach the top even once in the 11 competitions he has participated in on this course. This is also the record for the longest time without a win at a golf course throughout Woods’ career.
Last year, Woods said, “In 2023, my goal is to participate in one or two more tournaments besides major tournaments.” It seems that the combination of these various ties was the reason Woods chose the Genesis Invitational as his first ‘non-major tournament’ since the 2020 Zojo Championship before he was in a car accident.