Tiger Woods-hosted PGA Tour 2024 Genesis Invitational tees off

Industry

Published: 15 Feb. 2024, 16:14

Tiger Woods-hosted PGA Tour 2024 Genesis Invitational tees off

A Genesis GV80 Coupe is displayed at the Riviera Country Club for the 2024 Genesis Invitational [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

The 2024 Genesis Invitational, where Tiger Woods is set to make his PGA Tour season debut, kicked off Thursday. The event is sponsored by Hyundai Motor's luxury car brand Genesis.

This is the eighth year Genesis has sponsored the PGA Tour.

A total of 72 golfers will compete in the four-day tournament at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, including 18 of the top 20 golfers on the Official World Golf Ranking such as the No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and second-ranked Rory McIlroy. The tournament will run until Feb. 18.

Tiger Woods, who is also the host of the event, will be on the green, marking his first official appearance on the PGA Tour since withdrawing from the Masters midway through the tournament last April.

Four Korean players — An Byeong-hun; Kim Si-woo; Im Sung-jae; and Tom Kim, also known as Kim Joo-hyung — will also participate.

The 2024 Genesis Invitational has a purse of $20 million, with the winner taking a cut of $4 million and a GV80 Coupe.

Genesis will also offer GV80 and GV70 electric models to the player and caddie who make the first hole-in-one at the 14th hole of each round.

The player and caddie responsible for the first hole-in-one at the 16th hole will win a GV70 and GV60, respectively.

A total of 220 Genesis vehicles, including the GV60 and electric versions of the GV70 and GV80, will be mobilized for the event.
Eighteen will be displayed throughout the course, with the rest serving as operation cars.

“We will endeavor to allow Genesis' differentiated experience both for players and caddies,” said Song Min-gyu, vice president of Genesis' business division.

Genesis will also donate $300,000 to three local youth sports teams.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]