In a memo sent out to players, the PGA Tour said it is too early to discuss how next month’s Genesis Invitational will be affected by ongoing fires in Los Angeles.
The PGA Tour’s second Signature Event of 2025 – hosted by Tiger Woods – is scheduled to take place between February 13-16 at Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades, an area of southern California which has been greatly damaged by brushfires which began on Tuesday.
As of Sunday morning, 16 people are confirmed to have died as a result of this week’s fires and more than 150,000 residents have been put under evacuation orders, with 37,000 acres of land having already been destroyed by the flames. Per the Wildfire Alliance, the Palisades fire has already been labelled the most destructive in the city’s history.
And despite Los Angeles County declaring a public health emergency earlier this week, warning that smoke and particulate matter could pose immediate and long-term threats, the PGA Tour stated that an update on its next Californian event will not arrive until the situation in LA is much more stable.
In a memo sent out to its members on Thursday, the PGA Tour said: “At this point, it is premature to discuss the potential impact on the Genesis Invitational.
Inset image shows just how close LA fires came to Riviera CC earlier this week
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“Although The Riviera Country Club has not been directly affected by the fires, our immediate concern is the health and welfare of those in the affected communities, including all our members who have ties to Southern California. We will keep the membership updated as the situation develops.”
Disruption has already been felt in other sports, with multiple NBA games in the area postponed this week and the LA Rams’ NFL home playoff clash against the Minnesota Vikings moved from SoFi Stadium in Englewood, California to the Arizona Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
As fire-relief efforts start and continue in the coming days and weeks, PGA Tour golfer, Sahith Theegala has announced that he will play his own part by raising money for charities helping those deal with the destruction throughout the entire West Coast Swing.
Initially, the World No.13 – who grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Chino Hills, California – said that he would donate $100 for every birdie he made and $250 for every eagle carded at the Sony Open in Hawaii this week.
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However, Theegala has since vowed that he will extend his charitable efforts through at leas the next four tournaments – five if the Genesis Championship does indeed take place as planned.
Posting on social media, the 27-year-old said: “Gonna be continuing this for the whole West Coast swing, realized making birdies and eag(le)s is hard. Any little bit helps during this devastating time.”
Riviera CC remains inside the evacuation zone but has reportedly been unaffected by the fires as further strong Santa Ana winds blow the blaze east, threatening the likes of Brentwood, Encino and Westwood – among other places.
