By Frank Pingue
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (Reuters) – Tiger Woods said on Tuesday it was too soon to determine what impact, if any, the massive wildfires that have ravaged parts of Los Angeles for the past week could have on the PGA Tour event he is scheduled to host next month in Southern California.
Pacific Palisades is the home of The Genesis Invitational, a Signature Event that has a $20 million purse and is scheduled to take place Feb. 13-16 at Riviera Country Club.
Woods, speaking after making his TGL debut, said no decision has been made on whether to shift either the date of the tournament or its location from the Los Angeles area.
“There’s so many other things that are bigger than that. We have subsequent meetings to try and figure all that out,” Woods told reporters.
The 49-year-old Woods, who grew up in Cypress, California, said he knows some people who have “lost everything” in the fires and that the news has been hard to take.
“We’re trying to just figure everything out and make sure that everyone is safe and we have meetings scheduled going forward,” said Woods.
“But as of right now, we’re not really focused on the tournament. It’s more about what we can do to help everyone who’s struggling, who’s lost homes and had their lives changed.”
Max Homa, who played alongside Woods in the TGL match on Tuesday, felt the status of the Riviera event should not be the focus right now.
“No offense to Tiger and TGL and Genesis, but it seems silly at the moment to be overly focused on a golf tournament when people are still continuing to have this go on and living in a bit of fear in So Cal,” said Homa.
“It’s been really tough, but again, I’m just very happy that a lot of people have gotten out, been safe.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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