Though it is a little more than an hour away from his home in Corona del Mar, this is an event that Woods wanted to host in Southern California .
“We’ve always wanted to be a part of Southern California because obviously that’s where I was born and raised,” Woods said. “Over the years as we’ve kind of basically grown and matured in the event, you’ve seen a lot of these players come and have supported the event. I know they have busy schedules. A lot of the European players and foreign born players who don’t live here in the United States have made the trek over here to play.”
One of the reasons golf fans down in the Newport Beach/Costa Mesa area should make the 75-mile trek to the event is not only the quality of golf, but the intimacy of the event. Though there are only 18 players in the field, if there are one or two professionals that interest you — besides Woods, of course — the opportunity to watch them up close is invaluable.
The amount of people following Woods is still substantial, but it is not a mob scene, especially at the pro-am. Besides this is the only place in either Los Angeles or Orange County where Woods plays. He is still non-committal about playing at Riviera Country Club next year.
Pick any of the other golfers that aren’t in the group with Woods and chances are you can follow that player around fairly unencumbered for most of his round.
But don’t think that it is an exhibition match, even if it is going on during the Silly Season. This is the only limited-field event that has World Ranking points and that is another reason players have made the trip.
