Tiger Woods on the tenth hole during the first round of The Genesis Invitational Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

The PGA Tour is making a schedule change amid the wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area.

The Genesis Invitational, scheduled for next month, will relocate, according to a statement released by the PGA Tour on Thursday. The event, which has been contested in the Greater Los Angeles area since 1926, will likely compete outside of California for the first time in its nearly 100-year history.

Since 1999, The Genesis Invitational has been played at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades, one of the areas most impacted by the fires. According to The Ringer’s Nathan Hubbard on the Fairway Rollin’ podcast, Riviera Country Club remains standing, but the logistics and optics of holding a tournament in the area so shortly after the fires pushed the PGA Tour to seek an alternative.

The Tour released the following statement:

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. We are grateful for the life-saving efforts of first responders and the tireless work being done to put an end to the tragic wildfires.

 

In collaboration with Genesis, The Riviera Country Club and TGR Live, and out of respect for the unfolding situation, we have determined that The Genesis Invitational 2025 will be played at an alternate location the week of Feb. 10-16. A venue update and additional tournament information will be provided in the coming days.

While no official location has been announced, it’s widely speculated that the Tour will pivot to TPC Scottsdale in Arizona, which is the site of the previous week’s WM Phoenix Open. This would mean the PGA Tour would play the same course two weeks in a row.

The shift to TPC Scottsdale makes sense, given the unprecedented nature of moving a tournament location on such short notice. Courses often take months to prepare for a PGA Tour event, which TPC Scottsdale is already doing. Further, all of the Tour’s equipment will already be in place, making for less of a logistical nightmare.

Moving The Genesis takes on an added importance for the Tour because Tiger Woods organizes the event, and it is one of the only PGA Tour events he regularly participates in at this point in his career. Woods has proved he is still “the needle” regarding viewership, even in his professional twilight.

Woods has not yet committed to playing the event this season, but it’s possible that moving locations could impact his decision.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.