Photo Credit: The New York Post
An exciting weekend of golf came to a close with John Rahm winning The Genesis Invitational and Lydia Ko winning the Saudi Ladies International for the second time.
The Genesis Invitational is one of the most prestigious golf tournaments on the PGA Tour. The tournament was held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, and featured some of the biggest names in golf competing for the title.
The players faced a challenging course, with narrow fairways, thick rough, and fast greens, making for an exciting and unpredictable competition.
Jon Rahm secured his 10th PGA Tour title and regained his position as the world number one with a two-stroke victory over Max Homa. The Spaniard held a three-shot lead going into the final round and finished 17 under par with a two-under 69.
As I mentioned in my latest blog, there was much anticipation for Tiger Woods comeback as he returned to competitive golf after suffering leg injuries in a car crash in California. In his first tournament in seven months, he finished one under par in the final round. Woods is now expected to play the Masters in April, a tournament he has won five times in his career.
Overall, the 2023 Genesis Invitational was a thrilling and closely contested tournament, with some of the best golfers in the world battling it out for the title. Jon Rahm’s victory was well-deserved, and he will no doubt be looking to carry that momentum into the rest of the PGA Tour season.
Photo Credits: Golf Channel | Getty Images
The Aramco Saudi Ladies International also took place over the weekend. After the inaugural event, in 2020, The Aramco Saudi Ladies International has become a key event in the Ladies European Tour, and many top women golfers from around the world have taken part in the tournament.
Lydia Ko headed into the final day in second place, just one shot off the lead, and fired a final-round 68 to secure a one-shot victory. It was a good start to the season for Lydia Ko, who will now compete in the LPGA Tour in Thailand. Aditi Ashok, also displayed a good performance as she finished in second place on 20-under-par.
The Ladies European Tour season heads to South Africa for two events in March, with the Joburg Ladies Open taking place at Modderfontein Golf Club on the 1st - 4th of March and the Invester South African Women's Open at Steenberg Golf Club the following week.
Coming up next weekend, The Mayakoba season opener of LIV Golf will be played Friday through Sunday. On Monday night, they announced the signings of Danny Lee, Thomas Pieters, Brendan Steele and Dean Burmester and revealed the full 12 rosters of four-player teams. The series will grow from eight events in 2022 to 14 in 2023 and it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds after the very controversial season last year.