PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — It’s been a whirlwind three years for golf, and much of it has been played in and around the historic Riviera Country Club, where the Genesis Invitational will be held this week, starting with Thursday’s opening round.
Three years ago this week, Tiger Woods crashed his SUV into the woods while driving at high speed and was lucky to survive with a serious injury to his right leg.
Two years ago, when LIV Golf shook the foundations of the PGA Tour and poached some of its biggest names, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau stood in front of reporters and pledged their undying loyalty to the PGA Tour. Virtually millions of dollars vowed never to leave for LIV’s hundreds of tours.
Both signed eight- and nine-figure deals with Saudi-backed tours and felt like they were gone 15 minutes later.
Rory McIlroy, one of the PGA Tour’s most ardent supporters and LIV’s harshest critic, has called LIV “in the water” because of “who’s left” as LIV leaves the tour. It was at Riviera that week that he declared, “It has sunk.” PGA tour?
That claim is largely a result of the commitments of Johnson and DeChambeau, two of the tour’s top players, to the PGA Tour.
A month after Genesis, perhaps emboldened by the words of Johnson and DeChambeau, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan made a statement at the time saying he had no idea how badly he had misjudged and botched a delicate situation. I didn’t know, but I held a cheeky press conference before the Players Championship. And he said the PGA Tour has “moved on” from the whole LIV saga.
We all saw how that worked out.
It was shortly before that 2022 Genesis that author Alan Shipnack dropped a bombshell on Phil Mickelson about how the Saudis were “terrible mothers” and napalmed the PGA Tour. He quoted Mickelson in his book, who had made controversial statements about what he was doing.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape how the PGA Tour operates,” Mickelson is quoted in the book. “They managed to get by with manipulative, coercive and heavy-handed tactics, but we, the players, didn’t have the means. Just as nice a man. [Monahan] It seems like he won’t do the right thing unless you have influence. And Saudi money finally gave us that leverage. ”
A few years ago, around the time of the Genesis Invitational.
I played. Getty Images
McIlroy slammed Mickelson at the end of Genesis Week 2022 in connection with a quote from Shipnack’s book, a conversation Mickelson claimed was a private phone call.
McIlroy said of Mickelson’s comments, “Obviously you don’t want to kick a player when they’re down, but I thought they were naive, selfish, self-centered and ignorant.” “There were so many words to describe his interaction with Shipnack. It was really surprising, disappointing, sad. I’m sure he sat at home thinking about his position and where he was going from here. I think they are reconsidering.”
That week, one year after his car accident, Woods offered some grim predictions about his playing future, specifically whether he’ll be able to play in the 2022 Masters.
“I wish I could tell you when we play again. I want to know,” Woods said. “But I’m not. My golf activities are very limited. I’m still working on the walking part.”
Six weeks later, Woods played the Masters and almost miraculously made it through 36 holes.
As we sit down today, Woods is back at Genesis for yet another comeback. LIV is the real deal and has plucked some of the best players in the world from the PGA Tour, including most recently Jon Rahm. Monaghan is still somehow employed. And unfortunately, until the PGA Tour and LIV prove that the “framework agreement” they reportedly agreed to in June is no travesty, the stakes are high.
“There’s been a lot of movement in professional golf over the last few years,” Adam Scott told the Post during Wednesday’s Pro-Am round. “Sometimes it was distracting. Now I’ve gotten used to it a lot and it doesn’t bother me as much. When everything was going on and it was new, I was like, ‘Oh my god, what’s going on? I was like, “Are you deaf?” We are not used to this.
“At this point, we really miss everyone who just wants to watch great golf.” .. And we’re here, in probably the best venue on tour, with a great field and Tiger playing. I’m here. How many more plays will he play? who knows? This week should be a great tournament and I really feel like we need to focus on that for a while and appreciate the players who are working hard here to be the best players in the world. ”
