The PGA Tour event at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades has a new name, the Genesis Open.
Hyundai Motor America took over earlier this year as sponsor of the tournament, which started as the Los Angeles Open in 1926, and a month later it designated the Tiger Woods Foundation as the host organization.
Genesis is Hyundai’s global luxury car brand.
“This tournament is one of the most prominent on the PGA Tour and is played at one of the world’s best courses, so it was a natural fit for our first major sports marketing program,” said Erwin Raphael, general manager of Genesis in the United States.
The Los Angeles-area event usually boasts one of the strongest fields on the West Coast among regular PGA Tour events.
Bubba Watson is the defending champion and “Lighthorse Harry” Cooper won the first L.A. Open in 1926 at Los Angeles Country.
“I look forward to continuing to make a positive impact on the lives of children in Southern California, where my foundation is based, and am appreciative of the role Genesis will play in this mission,” Woods said.
Woods first played in the tournament as a 16-year-old amateur growing up about an hour away in Cypress, but has never won the event. He is recovering from back surgery and hopes to play at Riviera when the tournament is held next Feb. 16-19.
The event had been played as the Northern Trust Open since 2008.
