PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — It’s been a dizzying three years for golf, and so much of it has taken place in and around venerable Riviera Country Club where the Genesis Invitational is being played this week, beginning with Thursday’s opening round.
Three years ago this week, Tiger Woods crashed his SUV into the woods while traveling at a high speed and was lucky to survive, though he did sustain devastating injuries to his right leg.
Two years ago, with LIV Golf shaking the foundation of the PGA Tour poaching some of its biggest names, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau stood before reporters and pledged their undying allegiance to the PGA Tour, virtually vowing they’d never leave for LIV’s hundreds of millions of dollars.
It felt like 15 minutes later when both were signing eight- and nine-figure contracts with the Saudi-backed tour and gone they were.
It was also that week at Riviera where Rory McIlroy, one of the staunchest vocal supporters of the PGA Tour and harshest detractors of LIV, declared LIV “dead in the water’’ because “who is left’’ for LIV to sign away from the PGA Tour?
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That assertion was very much a result of those public commitments to the PGA Tour by Johnson and DeChambeau, two of the Tour’s top players.
A month after Genesis, perhaps buoyed by those words from Johnson and DeChambeau, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who had no idea at the time how badly he was misjudging and bungling the delicate situation, conducted a cocky press conference in advance of the Players Championship and said the PGA Tour has “moved on’’ from the entire LIV saga.
We all saw how that worked out.
It was a short time before that 2022 Genesis when author Alan Shipnuck dropped a bomb on Phil Mickelson, quoting Mickelson in his book making controversial statements about how the Saudis were “scary motherf—ers’’ and Napalming the PGA Tour.
“This is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape how the PGA Tour operates,’’ Mickelson was quoted in the book. “They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics but we, the players, had no recourse. As nice a guy as [Monahan] comes across as, unless you have leverage, he won’t do what’s right. And the Saudi money has finally given us that leverage.’’
a couple of years ago, near the time the Genesis Invitational was
played. Getty Images
McIlroy, at the end of that 2022 Genesis week, ripped Mickelson in relation to the quotes from the Shipnuck book, quotes from a conversation Mickelson insisted was a private phone call.
“I don’t want to kick someone while he’s down, obviously, but I thought they were naive, selfish, egotistical, ignorant,” McIlroy said of Mickelson’s comments. “A lot of words to describe that interaction he had with Shipnuck. It was just very surprising and disappointing, sad. I’m sure he’s sitting at home sort of rethinking his position and where he goes from here.”
Woods that week, a year removed from his car crash, delivered a grim forecast on his playing future, particularly if he’d be able to play in that 2022 Masters.
“I wish I could tell you when I’m playing again. I want to know,” Woods said. “But I don’t. My golf activity has been very limited. I’m still working on the walking part.’’
Six weeks later, Woods competed at the Masters and — almost miraculously — made the 36-hole cut.
As we sit today: Woods is back at Genesis for yet another comeback. LIV is real, having poached some of the best players in the world from the PGA Tour — including most recently Jon Rahm. Monahan is still somehow employed. And the game is unfortunately divided until the PGA Tour and LIV prove the “framework agreement’’ they supposedly came to back in June is not a farce.
“There’s been a lot of movement in professional golf the last few years,’’ Adam Scott told The Post while playing his pro-am round Wednesday. “At times, it’s been a distraction. For me now, I’m kind of used to it, and I pay less attention to it. When it was all happening and new it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what is going on? We’re not used to this.’
“At this point, I really miss everyone just wanting to see great golf.” .. And we’re here at maybe the greatest venue on Tour and with an incredible field and Tiger’s playing. How many more times does he play ever? Who knows? It should be a great competition this week, and I really feel like we need to focus on that for a while and appreciate guys still grinding their ass off out here to be the best players in the world.’’
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