Star-Studded Field Confirmed For The Genesis Invitational’s Return To Riviera Country Club

Tiger Woods and Ludvig Aberg — Tiger Woods hosts the Genesis Invitational, where Ludvig Aberg defends his title

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The field has been confirmed for the second PGA Tour Signature Event in as many weeks, the Genesis Invitational.

The prestigious tournament, which returns to its regular home of Riviera Country Club a year after it was moved to Torrey Pines due to the Los Angeles wildfires, follows immediately after the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Like that event, a $20m purse is on offer at the tournament, although this time, the winner will claim $4m rather than the $3.6m available at Pebble Beach.

That’s because it is one of three player-hosted Signature Events, with Tiger Woods doing the honors at Riviera.

The 15-time Major winner last teed it up at the Genesis Invitational two years ago, but his challenge was cut short when he withdrew six holes into his second round with flu-like symptoms.

He was expected to play in the 2025 edition, but on that occasion, he withdrew ahead of the tournament while he came to terms with the death of his mother, Kultida.

Following that, surgery on his Achilles and later his back put paid to Woods’ chances of making any PGA Tour appearances last year, and there is still no timeframe for his comeback, meaning that, for the second successive year, he will not be in the field.

Despite Woods’ absence, a star-studded line-up has been confirmed in the 72-player field, including defending champion Ludvig Aberg, who beat Maverick McNealy at Torrey Pines to hand him his second PGA Tour title.

If he is to repeat the achievement, he will need to overcome a field including all of the current world’s top 10.

Top of the pile is Scottie Scheffler, who is looking for his first win at the event. He’s not the only member of the world’s top 10 who has not won the Genesis Invitational, with the entire contingent still looking for their maiden title.

Scottie Scheffler lines up a putt — Scottie Scheffler is hoping for his first Genesis Invitational title

Could this be the year that one of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Chris Gotterup, Russell Henley, JJ Spaun, Robert MacIntyre, Ben Griffin, and Xander Schauffele, along with Scheffler, gets over the line?

One thing is certain, it won’t be easy, with other big names competing including 2024 champion Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa, who won in 2021, and two-time winner Adam Scott.

Hideki Matsuyama with the Genesis Invitational trophy — Hideki Matsuyama won the tournament in 2024

Other big names appearing include Major winners Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Jason Day, while the likes of Viktor Hovland and Cameron Young add further strength to the line-up.

Another player to look out for is Sahith Theegala, who has been named by Woods as the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption choice, which gives a deserving golfer from a minority background the opportunity to play in the tournament.

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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