World No. 1 Jason Day and 19 of the world’s top 30 golfers highlight the field for the February 13-19 PGA Tour event at The Riviera Country Club; Tickets available at GenesisOpen.com
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Today’s unveiling of the player field for next week’s Genesis Open at The Riviera Country Club sets up for the PGA TOUR’s west coast swing to finish with a festive flourish of first-class golf.
World No. 1 Jason Day is entered into the Genesis Open for the first time since 2012. The Australian leads 19 of the top 30 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking (as of the week of Feb. 6) who will tee it up at Riviera and try to dethrone long-hitting defending champion Bubba Watson, winner of two of the past three tournaments at Riviera.
In addition to Day, top-ranked golfers set to compete in the Genesis Open include reigning U.S. Open champion and PGA TOUR Player of the Year Dustin Johnson, 2015 Masters and U.S. Open Champion Jordan Spieth, 2013 Masters and 2005 tournament champion Adam Scott, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Matt Kuchar, 2016 PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker and World Golf Hall of Famers Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.
“This year’s Genesis Open field will be among the best in all of golf.” tournament director Mike Antolini said. “We are proud to welcome the world’s best golfers to The Riviera Country Club and excited for all of our guests to experience the Genesis Open.”
Among the tournament’s sponsor exemptions are Belgian Thomas Pieters and American Sam Saunders, the grandson of the late Arnold Palmer, a three-time winner of the PGA TOUR event in Los Angeles in 1963, 1966 and 1967 and runner-up finisher in 1968.
“The Genesis Open is an event I have always wanted to play. It is an event that all of my peers rave about as one of the best of the year,” Saunders said. “The history that Riviera has speaks for itself, and I am excited to have an opportunity to be a part of that history. I hope to make my first start at the Genesis Open one to remember.”
Pieters has won three European Tour events in the past 18 months, placed fourth in the men’s golf competition at the 2016 Olympics, and led the 2016 European Ryder Cup team with a record of 4-1, setting the European record for Ryder Cup points as a rookie. In 2012, Pieters captured the NCAA Individual Championship at Riviera while playing for the University of Illinois.
Members of the 2016 United States Ryder Cup team competing in the field include J.B. Holmes, Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Kuchar, Mickelson, Ryan Moore, Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker, Spieth, Walker, and Vice Captains Steve Stricker, Watson and Jim Furyk, who will captain the United States squad in the 2018 Ryder Cup.
The 2017 Genesis Open field also boasts the tournament’s last eight champions dating back to 2007 – Watson (2014, 2016), James Hahn (2015), John Merrick (2013), Bill Haas (2012), Aaron Baddeley (2011), Stricker (2010), Mickelson (2008, 2009) and Charles Howell III (2007) – and winners of 10 of the 12 tournaments from the current PGA TOUR season including Justin Thomas (three-time winner in 2016-17) and Hideki Matsuyama (two-time winner in 2016-17).
The Genesis Open is hosted by Tiger Woods as the tournament enters its first year under the operation of TGR Live, benefitting the Tiger Woods Foundation. Tickets to the 2017 Genesis Open, starting at $25, are on sale at GenesisOpen.com/Tickets.
2017 GENESIS OPEN FIELD
Byeong Hun An
Aaron Baddeley
Blayne Barber
Ricky Barnes
Charlie Beljan
Rich Berberian, Jr.
Zac Blair
Ryan Blaum
Michael Block
Steven Bowditch
Keegan Bradley
Scott Brown
Wesley Bryan
Chad Campbell
Paul Casey
Bud Cauley
Alex Cejka
Greg Chalmers
Kevin Chappell
Jinho Choi*
K.J. Choi
Stewart Cink
Chad Collins
Ben Crane
Jon Curran
Jason Day
Bryson DeChambeau*
Graham DeLaet
Luke Donald
Ken Duke
Ernie Els
Harris English
Bob Estes
Matt Every
Derek Fathauer
Tony Finau
Jim Furyk
Sergio Garcia
Fabian Gomez
Branden Grace
Cody Gribble
Bill Haas
Adam Hadwin
James Hahn
Kevin Hall**
Brian Harman
Padraig Harrington
David Hearn
J.J. Henry
Jim Herman
Charley Hoffman
Morgan Hoffmann
J.B. Holmes
Billy Horschel
Charles Howell III
Mark Hubbard
Mackenzie Hughes
John Huh
Billy Hurley III
Ryo Ishikawa
Dustin Johnson
Sung Kang
Smylie Kaufman
Michael Kim
Si Woo Kim
Whee Kim
Patton Kizzire
Soren Kjeldsen
Brooks Koepka
Jason Kokrak
Matt Kuchar
Anirban Lahiri
Martin Laird
Danny Lee
Marc Leishman
Spencer Levin
Luke List
Andrew Loupe
Jamie Lovemark
Shane Lowry
Hunter Mahan
Peter Malnati
Steve Marino
Ben Martin
Hideki Matsuyama
Graeme McDowell
William McGirt
John Merrick
Troy Merritt
Phil Mickelson
Bryce Molder
Francesco Molinari
Ryan Moore
Grayson Murray
Kevin Na
Seung-Yul Noh
Geoff Ogilvy
Ryan Palmer
Pat Perez
Carl Pettersson
Scott Piercy
Thomas Pieters*
Chez Reavie
Patrick Reed
Kyle Reifers
Patrick Rodgers
Justin Rose
Sam Saunders*
Ollie Schniederjans*
Charl Schwartzel
Adam Scott
John Senden
Webb Simpson
Vijay Singh
Cameron Smith
Brandt Snedeker
Jordan Spieth
Kyle Stanley
Brendan Steele
Shawn Stefani
Brett Stegmaier
Robert Streb
Kevin Streelman
Steve Stricker
Brian Stuard
Daniel Summerhays
Hudson Swafford
Nick Taylor
Vaughn Taylor
Justin Thomas
Cameron Tringale
Tyrone Van Aswegen
Harold Varner III
Jhonattan Vegas
Camilo Villegas*
Johnson Wagner
Jimmy Walker
Nick Watney
Bubba Watson
Collegiate Showcase*
Open Qualifier
Open Qualifier
Open Qualifier
Open Qualifier
* EXEMPTION
**CHARLIE SIFFORD MEMORIAL EXEMPTION
About the Genesis Open
The Genesis Open, L.A.’s PGA TOUR event, is bringing the next chapter in championship golf to The Riviera Country Club February 13 – 19, 2017. One of the most historic and longest-running events on the PGA TOUR, the tournament celebrated its 90th playing in 2016 as Bubba Watson won the event for the second time. With the TGR Live serving as event management company for the Genesis Open, the Tiger Woods Foundation is the primary benefiting charity with proceeds from the event supporting the foundation’s college-access programs in Southern California. The tournament is title-sponsored by Genesis, a global luxury car brand that delivers ‘human-centered’ luxury and the highest standards of performance, design and innovation in its vehicles. For more information, visit GenesisOpen.com and follow the tournament on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @GenesisOpen.
About TGR Live
For 20 years, TGR Live has exclusively organized and managed fundraising events supporting the Tiger Woods Foundation. It focuses solely on creating amazing experiences for the foundation’s clients at world-class events like the PGA TOUR’s Quicken Loans National, Genesis Open, and Hero World Challenge as well as Tiger Jam and the Tiger Woods Invitational presented by USLI. TGR Live provides a variety of services to the foundation, including hospitality management, public relations and marketing, tournament operations, and sponsor sales. While many TGR Live events are televised, TGR Live does not provide TV or video production. For more information, visit TGRLive.com.
About Tiger Woods Foundation
We have humble beginnings and a simple, universal vision: we give students in need the right resources to ensure lifelong success in school, their communities and the working world. We don’t allow our students to exist with the labels or restrictions or stigmas. Instead, we empower them to exceed any and all expectations. The TGR Learning Lab unleashes the full capacity of students, preparing them for today’s jobs and the ones that don’t exist yet. Serving students in grades 5-12 in Anaheim, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Stuart, FL, our unique culture fosters development of the whole person while providing critical STEM skills and college prep. With one of the highest graduation rate in the US, the Earl Woods Scholar Program currently has 149 students attending universities nationwide. To celebrate our 20th year, we’re embarking on an ambitious expansion plan, bringing our unique philosophy and educational curriculum to millions of teachers and students around the world. Find more information at tigerwoodsfoundation.org or follow us at @TWFoundation.
Contact:
Greg Ball
gregb@bzapr.com
(760) 271-9183
Noah Sharfman
nsharfman@tigerwoodsfoundation.org
(310) 702-8819
