The 44-year-old is tied with Sam Snead on 82 wins on the circuit and a title at the Riviera Country Club, located just outside Los Angeles, would see the 15-time major winner become the solitary leader of the PGA Tour’s all-time wins.

It will, however, be far from a straightforward affair. The Riviera Country Club may hold a special place in Woods’ heart as the course where he made his PGA Tour debut in 1992, but the California native has never won in 12 appearances at the course and has only played the Genesis Invitational twice since 2006.

Woods has finished in the top-10 just three times in those 10 stats and the last two starts at Riviera Country Club returned a missed cut in 2018 and a tied for 15th finish last year.

Tiger is just one of the high-profile players of a star-studded field, which features nine of the top-10 golfers in the world, including Rory McIlroy.

Earlier this week, the Northern Irishman reclaimed the crown of world No. 1 for the first time in over four years, dethroning Brooks Koepka, who is also in the field at the Genesis Invitational.

Dustin Johnson, who won the tournament in 2017, and has finished in the top-five six times at Riviera Country Club is among the participants, as are world No. 3 Jon Rahm and world No. 4 Justin Thomas.

McIlroy’s ascent to world No. 1 came faster than he thought, as the 30-year-old admitted last month. “I didn’t know I was going to get a chance this early, but this has been a goal of mine for a while,” he told reporters in a press conference ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open in January, which remains his only start of the year.

“Winning four times last year, I closed the gap a little. There was a point in the middle of last year where I was four ranking points behind Brooks [Koepka], which is a big gap. So it wasn’t on the radar when I was flying back from Ireland after the Open [in July last year].”

The winner on Sunday will make his own slice of history, as the first winner of the tournaments in its current guise.

Formerly known as the Genesis Open, the tournament has been granted invitational status from this year.

The change means the field has been reduced from 144 to 120, while the purse has increased by $1.9 million to $9.3 million.

On Monday, organizers announced the tournament will pay tribute to Kobe Bryant, weeks after the NBA legend perished in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people on January 26.

The course’s eighth hole will feature a yellow and purple flag, while the sign at the tee will carry the “Mamba” monicker that became synonymous with Bryant during his NBA career.

The Riviera Country Club is located approximately 15 miles from the Staples Center, which was Bryant’s home court during his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the tournament.

When is the Genesis Invitational?

The Genesis Invitational runs from Thursday, February 13 to Sunday, February 16.

The purse for this year’s event stands at $9.3 million.

Where is the Genesis Invitational?

As it’s been the case since 1999, the tournament will be held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

The 18-hole, 71-par course stretches over 7,322 yards and has hosted the tournament on 56 occasions in the past.

TV coverage

The tournament will be broadcast by Golf Channel and CBS, with the latter carrying the final two rounds.

Live stream

All four days of the tournament can be watched on PGA Tour Live, Golf Channel’s digital platforms and via fuboTV. A live stream of the final two days of the tournament will be available via CBS’ digital platforms.

TV schedule (All times ET)

Thursday, February 13

2 p. m. -6 p. m. —Golf Channel

Friday, February 14

2 p. m. -6p. m. —Golf Channel

Saturday, February 15

1 p. m. -2:45 p. m. —Golf Channel3 p. m. -6 p. m. —CBS

Sunday, February 16

1 p. m. -2:45 p. m. —Golf Channel3 p. m. -6:30 p. m. —CBS

Genesis Invitational odds

According to Oddschecker, Rory McIlroy is a 15/2 favorite, followed by Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm at 9/1 and 10/1 respectively.

Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods follow at 14/1 and 18/1, while Patrick Cantlay is a 20/1 outsider.