At this week's 2020 The Genesis Invitational, host Tiger Woods and his tournament team are paying tribute to Kobe Bryant, as the PGA Tour rolls into the Los Angeles area.
At host club Riviera Country Club, Woods and the PGA Tour has dubbed the eighth hole with the name "Mamba," in honor of Bryant's nickname. The 433-yard par 4 has a tee sign featuring purple and gold, the colors of the Los Angeles Lakers with Bryant's nickname. At the green, the pin flag for the hole has Bryant's jersey numbers, 8 and 24, on it.
For Kobe pic.twitter.com/tWYISRbLhQ
— The Genesis Invitational (@thegenesisinv) February 10, 2020
During the Waste Management Phoenix Open two weeks ago, the PGA Tour paid tribute to Bryant on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale in a similar fashion. The Sunday pin at the par-3 16th was 24 paces on from the front and 8 paces from the left edge of the green. A similar flag was used, donning Bryant's jersey numbers as a Laker, and Bryant's numbers were spray-painted on the turf letting to the putting surface.
Players paid tribute to Bryant throughout the week in Phoenix, too, with Tony Finau wearing Bryant's Lakers jersey each time he played the 16th hole. Justin Thomas chose to wear Bryant's high school jersey from when he played at Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, Bryant's hometown.
Tiger Woods has been a long-time Lakers fan, as he is of Los Angeles sports teams.
Bryant and his daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in a helicopter accident near Los Angeles on January 26. The other seven victims of the crash were John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah Chester, Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and pilot Ara Zobayan.
