‘Cancel the Damn Thing’: PGA Tour, Woods Accused of Insensitivity Towards LA Fire Victims After Genesis Invitational Move

PGA Tour has finally shared an update on the Genesis Invitational. But not the one fans hoped to get. The $20M purse signature event at Riviera, scheduled to be hosted on February 13, was under doubt due to the Pacific Palisades wildfire. Riviera, the storied venue of Jack Nicklaus’s professional debut, and Tiger Woods’s PGA Tour debut, has been spared. It has escaped the wrath of a wildfire that burned down another golf club in the neighborhood, left at least 27 dead, and displaced over 180,000 residents.

Naturally, the overarching sentiment was it’s not a good time to talk about golf. In fact, the PGA Tour itself in a memo shared with players a few days back announced, that it was ‘premature’ to talk about the Genesis Invitational. “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.”

Speaking to the media a few days later, Tiger Woods, the event host, echoed a similar sentiment. Hinting that a decision will be taken in a few days, the 15-time major champion said, “As far as the Genesis, we’re just trying to figure everything out and make sure that everyone is safe and we have meetings scheduled going forward. But as of right now, we’re not really focused on the tournament.” Standing by him, fellow Californian and UC Berkley Grad, Max Homa nodded.

“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,” said Homa, a former champion of the Genesis Invitational. Nevertheless, the PGA Tour does have a plan. It’s to relocate the tournament.

The Tour in the latest announcement shared, “In collaboration with Genesis, The Riviera Country Club, and TGR Live, and out of respect for the unfolding situation, we have determined that The Genesis Invitational 2025 will be played at an alternate location the week of Feb. 10-16. A venue update and additional tournament information will be provided in the coming days.”

It’s yet to be determined where the tournament will be hosted. But the very fact that the PGA Tour didn’t cancel the event has actually riled fans. They believed ideally the Tour should’ve focused solely on helping LA Wildfire victims.

Fans are not happy at all with the PGA Tour’s decision

It should be noted that professional golf’s association with Southern California predates the PGA Tour’s formation. The Los Angeles Open was first hosted in 1926 at the Los Angeles Country Club. Eventually, the tournament settled at Riviera in 1973. But in between it has been moved to Rancho Park, Valencia Country Club, occasionally.

But in light of the catastrophic LA Wildfire, most fans believe the Tour should’ve axed it this time. “Showing respect would be to cancel completely and spend time helping out,” wrote one user. Another commented, “It may seem respectful to relocate the Genesis away from Los Angeles, but in reality the PGA Tour is doing what is best for them. They most likely can’t get the law enforcement support to operate the tournament as planned. I feel badly for the hourly workers who won’t get paid.”

via Imago

Some users also noted that the PGA Tour already has too many events.  “Here’s a novel idea… You already have at least 10 too many tournaments… CANCEL THE DAMN THING ALTOGETHER,” commented one user. The 2025 schedule includes 39 tournaments. But the Genesis Invitational is a flagship PGA Tour event. A likely reason why the Tour’s top brass decided to go ahead with it. Nevertheless, it didn’t convince fans.

“Would be great to see some of those players, tour officials, etc. that were already planning to be in California take the time to help the victims & first responders,” commented one user. Another wrote, “You could have done this last week. Pathetic.”

As of now, it’s not clear how the PGA Tour is planning to help the affected communities in Los Angeles. Notably, the Genesis organizers started a fundraising campaign by creating ‘LA Strong’ t-shirts. Max Homa, and Collin Morikawa both were seen wearing them at their TGL debut last Tuesday. The proceedings will go towards the American Red Cross and L.A. Fire Department Foundation.