After Jon Rahm’s defection to the Saudi-funded tour, all eyes will be on the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles this week as Tiger Woods continues his latest comeback from injury.
It has been ten months since he embarked on an official event on the PGA Tour and a whole year since he completed four full rounds in one. It’s been quite a while, nearly half a decade, since he last claimed victory in a tournament. Interestingly, by the end of 2025, he will be eligible to participate in seniors golf. However, when the viewing figures for the first round of this week’s Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles are tallied, one thing is certain.
Tiger Woods continues to be the most captivating figure in golf.
This is precisely why LIV offered him a staggering £600 million to join their ranks. It’s also the reason why the PGA Tour has rewarded him with £30 million in bonuses over the past three years, despite only participating in eight events during that time. And that’s precisely why, on the eve of his return to PGA Tour action, Woods graced the glamorous launch of his new clothing line in LA.
The brand ‘Sun Day Red’ is known for its traditional choice of color for the final round in tournaments, which is also reflected in its logo—a tiger emblem consisting of 15 stripes, representing the number of Majors that Woods has won. However, the likelihood of Tiger adding to his tally and approaching Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Majors is very slim.
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is eager for Woods to fulfill his recently expressed desire of participating in one tournament per month, especially as Saudi-funded LIV Golf continues to attract top players. In December, Woods finished 18th in the Hero World Challenge, although it was not an official PGA Tour event. This marked his latest comeback following a serious injury and ankle surgery in April.
Assuming Woods remains fit after the Genesis Invitational, an event he hosts, he is expected to compete in the Players Championship next month and then proceed to The Masters in April. After a series of relatively unknown winners in 2024, the PGA Tour will greatly appreciate Woods’ star power, particularly since defending champion Jon Rahm has switched to LIV.
However, other notable players such as Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland, both European Ryder Cup heroes, will also be competing at Riviera Golf Club. They will be joined by world number one Scottie Scheffler, who is considered a top contender. Despite being priced at 175-1 for a victory, all eyes will undoubtedly be on Tiger and his new equipment.
Tiger smiled and said, “I am Sunday red.” He explained that his mother, Kultida, believed that as a Capricorn, his power color was red. So, he started wearing red as a junior golfer and achieved success in various tournaments.
Interestingly, when Tiger attended Stanford University, their color was also red. Consequently, he and his team wore red on the final day of every tournament. This tradition continued when he turned professional, as he always wore red in every tournament. Red has now become closely associated with him.
The PGA Tour can only hope that Tiger will be wearing his iconic Sunday red this weekend.
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