Tiger Woods will make his 2025 PGA Tour debut next week at the Genesis Invitational, the annual tournament he hosts that this year has been moved from the Los Angeles area to San Diego.
Woods, 49, had been expected to play the event, especially since it is moving to a venue at Torrey Pines where he’s had enormous success, winning eight times, including the 2008 U.S. Open.
But the death of Woods’ mother, Kultida, on Tuesday left reason to doubt if Woods would attend.
And there is also the injury issues that continue to plague him. Woods had a back procedure in September and has not played an official event since July at the British Open, where he missed the cut.
He also continues to deal with the injuries suffered to his lower right leg in a February 2021 car crash that severely impacted his ankle and foot and has made walking difficult.
Woods skipped his annual Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December, but played the 36-hole PNC Championship exhibition in mid-December with his son, Charlie. They lost in a playoff to Bernhard Langer and his son, Jason.
The Genesis, a $20 million Signature event, is annually played at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. But there area has been severely impacted by wildfires, causing tournament officials and the PGA Tour to scramble for another venue. They announced the move to Torrey Pines in San Diego on Jan. 24.
Woods played in just five events last year, withdrawing from the Genesis due to injury and missing the cut at the PGA Championship, U.S. Open and the Open. He made the cut at the Masters, where he ended up finishing 60th.
So far, Woods has played in his tech-infused simulator indoor league called TGL twice and is scheduled to do so again on Feb. 18.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tiger Woods Commits to Play Next Week's Genesis Invitational.
