Why the Genesis Invitational honored Tiger Woods' mom with a simple white flag
Tiger Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational this week following the death of his mother and it's clear the decision weighed on him.
In addition to hosting the Genesis — and the importance of this year's tournament helping raise LA wildfire relief funds — Woods was hoping to make his 2025 PGA debut at Torrey Pines in honor of his mother.
Instead it was just too soon and it's hard to fault Woods.
Yet the Genesis did find a way to make sure Kultida Woods is honored on the course, paying respect to her buddhist heritage in the process.
A simple white flag pin adorns the green on the seventh hole of the South Course this week and the significance behind it is quite beautiful.
In a tribute to @TigerWoods' late mother Tida, the 7th hole @TheGenesisInv will feature an all white flag.
A native of Thailand, Tida was a faithful Buddhist, and the No. 7 and color white are significant in Buddhism and will be displayed in her honor. pic.twitter.com/oj9Oh2rrcU
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 13, 2025
Per the PGA:
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
J.J. Spaun (4-under 66) grabs early lead at US Open
Related : Only five players from the morning wave managed to break par on an Oakmont course that was still trying to dry out from rain, and still very much holding its own. Thriston Lawrence of South Africa, who contended at Royal Troon last summer, had six birdies in a round of 67. Advertisement Si Woo Kim was at 68, with Ben Griffin and Thomas Detry at 69. The course allowed plenty of birdies, and doled out plenty of punishment. Masters champion Rory McIlroy also was bogey-free, at least on his opening nine. Then he three-putted for bogey on No. 1 and wound up with a 41 on the front nine for a 74. That included a 30-foot putt to save bogey after taking three hacks to get out of the rough on the par-5 fourth. Shane Lowry became the first player to hole out from the fairway for eagle on No. 3. He also had three double bogeys and shot 79. Spaun was not immune from this. He just made everything, particularly five par putts from 7 feet or longer. Advertisement 'I think today was one of my best maybe putting days I've had maybe all year,' Spaun said. 'Converting those putts ... that's huge for momentum and keeping a round going, and that's kind of what happens here at US Opens.' Spaun wouldn't know that from experience. This is only his second US Open, and his ninth major since his first one in 2018. He didn't have to qualify, moving to No. 25 in the world on the strength of his playoff loss to McIlroy at The Players Championship. 'I haven't played in too many,' Spaun said 'I knew it was going to be tough. I did my best just to grind through it all.' It was every bit of a grind, from the rough and on the fast greens. Xander Schauffele had to birdie his last two holes to salvage a 72. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau had four bogeys over his last 10 holes for a 73. On this course, at this major, those weren't bad starts. PGA champion Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player, was among those who played in the afternoon as the breeze got a little stronger, the greens got a little firmer and the rough stayed as thick as ever. The average score already was in the 75 range as the late wave was starting out. Eight players already shot 80 or worse, including Matt Vogt, the Indiana dentist and former caddie at Oakmont. Vogt was selected to hit the opening shot, an appropriate choice for a US Open that prides itself on giving anyone a chance to qualify. He was among 16 players who had to go through two stages, 54 holes, just for a crack at Oakmont. Advertisement 'Oakmont is relentless,' said John Bodenhamer, the chief championships officer at the USGA who sets up the course. 'There's no let-up. It's a grind. That's the US Open.' It was living up to its reputation in the opening round. Spaun managed to avoid any calamity. The chip-in on No. 10 to start his round was a bonus. His best shot was a long iron to 5 feet on the par-3 16th. His longest birdie putt was 12 feet on the short par-4 17th, where he drove to the collar of thick rough around the green. But it was those par putts that saved him — from 8 feet on the par-5 fourth after driving in a grassy 'pew' in the famed Church Pew bunker; from 16 feet after finding a bunker off the tee on the par-3 sixth; and from 8 feet on the par-3 eighth toward the end of his round. McIlroy's biggest putt was 30 feet on the fourth, and that was for bogey. He drove right into rough that came up to his shins. He hammered that shot all of 20 yards into more rough. The next one went 10 yards and stayed in the rough. He finally got out to the fairway, and from there was 30 feet left of the pin. So it could have been worse. There also was the par-3 eighth, with a front pin so that it only played 276 yards. McIlroy went with 3-wood and sent that well right, where it disappeared into the high grass. Two hacks later, he was on his way to another double bogey. Advertisement
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jon Rahm says his 21 straight top-10 LIV Golf finishes aren't telling the whole story
Jon Rahm hits out of the bunker on the fourth hole of his U.S. Open practice round on June 11, 2025. OAKMONT, Pa. — Jon Rahm has 21 consecutive top-10 finishes in his LIV Golf events and was asked about that streak. 'I would happily trade a bunch of them for more wins, that's for sure, but I keep putting myself in good position,' he said. 'Listen, I'm a realist in this case. I've been playing really good golf, yes, but I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't easier to have top 10s with a smaller [48-player] field. Advertisement 'Had I been playing full-field events, would I have top 10 every single week? No. Jon Rahm hits out of the bunker on the fourth hole of his U.S. Open practice round on June 11, 2025. Getty Images 'But I've been playing good enough to say that I would most likely have been inside the top 30 every single time and maybe even top 25, which for 21 straight tournaments I'd say that's pretty good. I still would have had a lot of top 10s, that's for sure. 'As much as I want to give it credit personally for having that many top 10s, I wouldn't always give it as the full amount just knowing that it's a smaller field.' John Bodenhamer, the USGA's chief championships officer, on Wednesday hinted that it's possible Phil Mickelson, who's playing in his 34th U.S. Open but is in the final year of his five-year exemption into the event, would be in consideration for a special invitation next year should be not otherwise qualify. Advertisement The 2026 U.S. Open will be played at Shinnecock Hills, where Mickelson finished runner-up in 2004. Mickelson actually received a special exemption in 2021, but went on to win the PGA Championship to earn his way in as well as a five-year exemption. This week is the final year of that exemption. 'We would review things for Shinnecock ahead of next year and look at all of those possibilities and evaluate it from there,' Bodenhamer said when asked about another special invite. 'We hope he earns his way in, and I think he'd tell you the same thing. That's what he did last time. We gave him one and then he went out and won the PGA Championship. So, [we] wouldn't put it past him.'' Rory McIlroy was asked how 'big a factor' it was in his subpar PGA Championship performance last month having to play with his backup driver after he was forced to take his No. 1 out of play when it was deemed nonconforming by the USGA. Advertisement 'It wasn't a big deal for Scottie [Scheffler], so it shouldn't have been a big deal for me,' he said. Rory McIlroy hits a tee shot on the first hole of his U.S. Open practice round on June 11, 2025. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Scheffler, the world No. 1 player who went on to win the PGA, also had his driver taken out of play because it was found to be nonconforming.
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Fox News
Scottie Scheffler 'forming himself into' becoming the next Tiger Woods, former World No 1 says
Scottie Scheffler is in a class of his own. The World No. 1 golfer is the heavy favorite to win this weekend's U.S. Open. In fact, he has the lowest odds of anybody in a major since Tiger Woods at the 2009 PGA Championship (it remains the only time Woods lost a 54-hole lead in a major). Scheffler is the only other player to be the No. 1-ranked player in the world for more than 100 consecutive weeks. Of course, Woods holds the top-two longest stretches of 281 and 264, so Scheffler has a long way to go. But if anyone in the game of golf is going to draw comparisons to the 15-time major winner among pro golfers, it's Scheffler. "Everyone's looking at Scottie right now and how consistent he is. When he doesn't win, he's in the top five. That's very difficult to do," Jason Day, a former World No. 1, said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. Scheffler had one of the greatest seasons in PGA history last year with eight wins, including the Masters and Olympics, making an all-time record $54 million in prize money - if 2024 Scottie Scheffler were its own player, it'd be the 14th-largest career earnings ever, and he's already in second place, behind Woods. He's followed that up with three wins this year, including his third major in the PGA Championship. In 12 events played, he has nine top 10s and has yet to finish outside the top 20. Day said Woods "was a different beast." But we are "potentially, for sure" "seeing someone build himself into the next Tiger." "I know how dominant Tiger was back in the day when I first started playing, so I'm not going to say anything in terms of how far Scottie's got to go and what he has to do in his career, but we're starting to see Scottie forming himself into potential greatness and one of the best of all time," Day said. "Let's just sit back and watch it, he's great. And priorities change. You have kids, other business interests, injuries, a lot of things can happen in your life. But he seems like he's very balanced from when he's on and off the course. He's a competitive guy, he loves competing, and you can see it when he plays golf." At one point, it looked like Day would do what Scheffler is doing now. At a point, he kind of was. In 17 events from July 26, 2015, to May 15 the following year, Day won seven of those, including his lone major in the PGA Championship. He won four of his final seven starts of the 2015 season and won three of his first 10. Since then, injuries have taken a toll on Day, who is currently ranked 39th and has just two wins since 2016. He's found his form recently with some better finishes amid grinding through his injuries. Does he look at Scheffler and get jealous? "The easy answer is you can't be jealous because you're not in that position," he said. "If you put yourself in that position where you can win all the time, then it's easy to put yourself there. But I was talking to Tiger one time, talking about getting inside the top 50, and he goes, 'I have an idea for you. Play better.' You can be jealous if you're seeing someone else succeed if you're not putting in the work. But if you're putting in the work, some guys are just better than you. But if you're sitting back saying, 'That should be me,' and not putting in the work, then you've got to re-evaluate things in your life." Day will be at Oakmont this weekend, aiming to end that 10-year major drought. He catered his home to the viral Oakmont conditions, but he's also feeling pretty good. "Being No. 1 in the world, I knew how hard it was to get there, the work and effort and distractions that came with it. It's hard to sit there and say injuries have taken me out of some momentum, but a career is very long. I'm trying to get these recent injuries behind me, and if I can have some healthy years and hit the ball hard, focus on what I need to do, hopefully I'll give myself a chance to challenge some of the best in the world." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
