Genesis Invitational Recap
Joshua Lee
Staff Writer
From February 16th through February 19th, one of the most elite fields in the calendar year gathered in Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club to battle for the prestigious title as winner of The Genesis Invitational. As the first tee shot of the week approached, the golfing world laid quiet to hear the commitment of Tiger Woods to the event, as he is the host. With Tiger in the field along with Scottie Scheffler, a red-hot Max Homa, and Jon Rahm seeking a return to the seat as the world number one ranked player, we were guaranteed to see some spectacular golf.
As expected, we got a treat of a show from Homa and Rahm as they battled down the stretch. With neither player wanting to give away shots with careless bogeys, it was Rahm who started the day ahead, who was the one to eventually hoist the trophy. With a final round score of 69 to put him at -17 total, he claimed a two-shot victory over Homa (-15), to cement himself (again) as the best golfer in the world. The Spaniard has been on a once in a lifetime type of run where he has yet to finish outside the top 8 this calendar year, all the while claiming 3 victories and 2 more top 5’s to go along with those. When a player goes on this kind of streak on high finishes, the comparison that gets thrown around is that of Tiger Woods, who just so happened to test out his game for the first time this year.
Tiger, still recovering from a near fatal car crash that occurred back in early 2021, draws all the headlines that can possibly be generated before the tournament even begins. The thought of Tiger Woods playing at an elite level, competing and beating the best in world is a reality that no one is sure that we will ever see again. But, for this week, while we might not have got the Tiger Woods triumph story that the fantasizer fans had predicted, we did get a lot to look forward to. Tiger played well enough to make the cut on the number (+1) and played well enough on the weekend to finish the event under par (-1). Tiger finishing the event under par after making the cut, and without any visible signs of pain is all the news the golf world needed to strike a little thought that maybe Tiger Woods could some day win again.
As the sun set on the Los Angeles based property, it was Jon Rahm who walked away with the trophy in hand. The Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods is known for bringing in one of the best fields of the year, but nobody had a clue what to expect this year. What we did know what that Max Homa, a past winner, was playing some of the best golf of his life, all the while Jon Rahm is playing some of the best golf we’ve seen in years. And at the end of the day, it is Rahm who reclaims the throne as world number one and winner of Genesis Invitational while Homa soon seeks revenge.
Contact Joshua at joshua.lee@student.shu.edu