Bubba and DJ to Play at Riviera

The champs keep coming back. 2018 defending champion Bubba Watson and the 2017 tournament winner, Dustin Johnson, have both committed to playing in this year's 2019 Genesis Open from February 14-17 at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

Bubba is the current undisputed king of Riviera, having won the event three times in the past five years. "It's unbelievable. To do it twice was amazing, and then have a chance on the back nine on Sunday to do it again and then pull it off, very special, said Watson following last year's 12-under par, two stroke victory over Kevin Na and Tony Finau.

Johnson, very comfortable at Riviera's track, has finished in the top ten finishers seven times. In 2017, he shot a 17 under-par, 267 total to win the tournament by five strokes. It was a grand parlay. The victory elevated him to the number one in the world. Currently Johnson is ranked 3rd on the OWGR list while Watson rests at number 16.

This is the third consecutive year TGR Live, a Tiger Woods' venture, is hosting the PGA Tour event once called the L.A. Open. The final stop on the West Coast swing, Riviera has hosted the Genesis Open since 1973 when it moved from Rancho Park Golf Course in West Los Angeles.

The tournament was previously played as the Glen Campbell – Los Angeles Open, the Nissan Open and the Northern Trust Open. This is third year luxury automotive brand Genesis has partnered with TGR Live and the TGR Foundation to sponsor the tournament. Erwin Raphael, COO, Genesis Motor America has been instrumental in setting a new standard for the event.

The tournament had a successful start in 2017 as it began reinventing and reinvigorating the event to make it more fan and family-friendly. There's also been a concerted effort to set up a course the players can enjoy yet still remain challenging. Low scoring has never been a problem here.

Tiger Woods seems likely to play the tournament for the second consecutive year. Last year Tiger returned to play in the tournament for the first time since 2006. He shot 72 and 76 in the first two rounds last year to miss the cut by four strokes. He has yet to win in 11 attempts, the tournament he made his debut at when he was 16 years old in 1992.

Read the Culver City Observer in the upcoming weeks for updates leading up to the 93rd Genesis Open.