Tiger Woods to play in L.A. Tour stop for the first time since 2006

There seems to be one sure way to get Tiger Woods to play in your tournament — let his company run it.

In a move as expected as the large crowds that will follow him, Woods announced Tuesday that he has committed to play in the Genesis Open, more familiarly called the L.A. Open, Feb. 13-19 at Riviera Country Club.

Woods has not played in the L.A. tournament since 2006, usually favoring the Farmers Insurance Open at San Diego’s Torrey Pines, scene of his most memorable win, the 2008 U.S. Open. In that tournament, Woods outlasted Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff while playing on a knee that required surgery and a year off the Tour.

Penciling in Woods for Riviera turned to a permanent marker when TGR Live was named host of the Genesis Open. The Tiger Woods Foundation will be the tournament’s chief beneficiary.

“I’m very excited to come back to Riviera and compete in the Genesis Open,” Woods said in a statement. “This is where it all started for me. It was my first PGA Tour event, I was 16 years old [in 1992], I weighed about 105 pounds, and it was a life-changing moment for me.”

Woods has had his share of life-changing moments as he rose to become unquestionably the best golfer on the planet. But that was followed by a series of injuries and a tabloid-like scandal revolving around his self-proclaimed sex addiction.

Early this month, he returned to competitive golf after a 16-month absence because of a chronic back injury. He showed flashes of both brilliance and extreme rust as he finished 15th out of 18 golfers in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Who runs that tournament? Why, TGR Live.

Woods is expected to announce his full schedule sometime after the beginning of the year.