The golf legend, who annually hosts the tournament at Riviera Country Club, has recorded eight of his 82 PGA Tour wins at Torrey Pines, including the 2008 U.S. Open
Tiger Woods is coming back to Torrey Pines.
Let the buzz begin — and allow all the memories to come flooding back.
The Genesis Invitational announced Friday morning that Woods will be part of the field in next week’s tournament, which was relocated from Pacific Palisades to Torrey Pines following the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
The charmed relationship between Torrey Pines and the PGA Tour is in large part due to Woods, an 82-time winner and 15-time major champion.
Woods won the Farmers Insurance Open a record seven times at Torrey Pines and also claimed an iconic 2008 U.S. Open victory there, not to mention a 1991 Junior World championship.
“I think the community of San Diego took for granted that Tiger Woods virtually showed up every single year at this event,” San Diegan Charley Hoffman said before last month’s Farmers. “The best player in the world, and competed to win almost every time he played here. … Now a lot of these tournaments, if you had Tiger Woods two or three times through the history of the event, they would be happy. We had Tiger Woods each and every year.”
Tiger Woods hits out of the rough on the 5th hole of Torrey Pines south course during the fourth round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Jan. 28, 2018. (Photo by K.C. Alfred/ San Diego Union-Tribune)
The Genesis, which begins Thursday and is hosted by Woods, is among eight “signature” limited-field events on the PGA Tour, with most of the top players competing for prize money increased to $20 million. By contrast, the 2025 Farmers won last month by Harris English offered $9.3 million.
The tournament announced Friday that 46 of the top 50 players in the world rankings will compete, including No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 3 Rory McIlroy, No. 4 Collin Morikawa and No, 5 Hideki Matsuyama, the defending champion.
“The stars are coming to Torrey Pines,” Genesis Invitational tournament director Mike Antolini said, “and Tiger has added his name to the top of that list.”
One player noticeably absent from the commitment list is San Diegan Xander Schauffele, who is ranked No. 2 in the world.
Schauffele played in The Sentry five weeks ago, but has been sidelined ever since with a rib injury.
In a PGA Tour social media post earlier this week, Schauffele said: “In all honesty, I probably shouldn’t have played Sentry. I was trying my hardest for me to kind of come into the new year semi-hurt, play, get worse. Now I’m sidelined. I’m just trying to learn from this and really come back 100%.”
In this June 15, 2008, file photo, Tiger Woods reacts after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th green, forcing a playoff against Rocco Mediate during the fourth round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. The U.S. Open returns to Torrey Pines on June 17-20, minus Woods as he recovers from leg injuries in a car crash. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
Woods, 49, has been bothered by health issues for years. He played in five official tour events last year — his final appearance was in July’s British Open — before having season-ending back surgery in September.
While Woods has appeared in the new TGL simulator indoor league, The Genesis marks his 2025 PGA Tour debut. He played in the event last year, but withdrew in the second round with the flu.
Woods has completed a four-round event just twice since 2021, when he suffered a broken right leg and ankle in a car accident. He hasn’t played a pro event at Torrey Pines since the 2020 Farmers, where he tied for ninth place. On Tuesday, Woods announced that his mother, Kultida, had died at 80.
Woods’ return brings back plenty of memorable moments — not just for fans but for other tour pros.
At last year’s Farmers, Keegan Bradley recalled the scene at Torrey Pines during his rookie season in 2011.
“I was putting and there was so many people around the putting green and I heard this like buzz or this commotion,” Bradley said. “I didn’t know what was going on and I looked around and Tiger had walked down to the putting green.
“It was like a ‘Holy cow’ moment for me. Like I’m trying to putt but I’m still like peeking over to see, like I’ve never really seen him before. … There’s holes out here mostly because of Tiger that you remember. You remember shots that he hit in U.S. Opens, and it’s just a special place.”
Tiger Woods catches a ball on the 13th hole during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament Monday, June 10, 2024, in Pinehurst, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Max Homa, who grew up in Los Angeles, remembers coming to Torrey more than a decade ago and watching Woods play the South Course’s par-4, 518-yard 15th hole.
“Another bear of a hole,” Homa said. “I remember he hit a massive drive and it looked like he hit a 9-iron and spun it back to like (within) 2 feet.
“That’s the hole that I just remember sticks out so much to me. It’s graceful and it’s powerful, something you have to almost see up close.”
Homa made a name for himself at Torrey Pines two years ago when he won the Farmers. The 2021 Genesis Invitational also is among his six PGA Tour titles.
As many great players as there are in golf, Homa still marvels at how the regard for Woods is on another level.
“Even when I got out here as a professional, just the vibe around him,” said Homa, thinking back to a Farmers memory from a decade ago. “One year there was a fog delay and we were all stuck on the putting green and he’s playing with two very popular and amazing golfers, Billy Horschel and Rickie (Fowler).
“The first day there was a thousand people on the putting green and the next day, he had withdrawn that afternoon … There was the same fog delay and there were like 22 people around us. It was like, ‘Dang, this guy really controls the world.’”
