How to watch Riviera’s Genesis Open live online, TV schedule and more

There is really nothing better than the PGA Tour’s annual stop at Riviera. This isn’t a major and it would be stupid to compare it to one, but the Genesis Open, which is what we’re now calling this event at Riv, has a very strong case as the best tournament on Tour in the non-major category. Yes, that includes all those loaded WGC events and even The Players (arguably — Riv has a case, is what we’re saying).

The field is always strong. The destination is unlike any other on Tour, dropped in the middle of Hollywood. The time of year makes everyone else freezing in most other parts of the country badly want to watch in envy. And the course, well, that’s what sells this regular stop on Tour. It’s a classic, historic layout that is a welcome change up from so many of the TPC venues that populate the schedule. It oozes character and has several holes where you wouldn’t mind just posting up for an entire day and watching how each and every group decides to play it.

The most famous hole at Riviera is the 10th, which has a cult following and appreciation. It’s a short little drivable par-4 with a thimble-size green surrounded by all sorts of impossible lies, bunkers, and spots golfers commonly call “jail.” It’s a beautiful risk-reward hole — not very long but capable of wrecking an entire scorecard with some huge crooked number. Most players love it, some think it’s a gimmick and hate it (Bubba Watson, not a fan). The 10th at Riv, for the fans, is often the most beloved hole on the PGA Tour and fortunately, there will be a live stream up and running there at the crack of dawn on Thursday and continuing throughout the week as part of the “featured holes” coverage.

The full stable of streaming and TV options will be available this week, commensurate with the kind of legendary event and loaded field this Genesis Open demands. PGA Tour Live will be running by 9:30 a.m. for the first two rounds, which is pre-dawn 6:30 a.m. stuff out in Los Angeles. There are so many names to choose from for their featured groups streams and the two clusters they have going each day may be the best we see this year. Spieth, DJ, Phil, Bubba, Sergio, Day, Rose, Scott, JT, Hideki... the names are the who’s who in golf right now and everyone has made it to Riv. If you don’t have a subscription, well, this might be the event worth signing up for on its own. It’s that good -- cancel after a month if you want.

Of course, this Genesis Open could have been so much more. This is now a Tiger Woods party. When Hyundai’s Genesis brand took over as the title sponsor, they named the Tiger Woods Foundation as the charitable beneficiary. That brought Tiger back into the fold as an unofficial host in the same way he has at Congressional and TPC Boston. His foundation helps run things and Tiger shows up and plays — something he hasn’t done at his hometown event in a decade after several poor showings at Riviera.

But not only will Tiger not play this week, he may never even show his face at the exclusive Pacific Palisades club. That’s because Woods is laid up in his hotel room, staying “horizontal,” as his agent put it, and following doctors’ orders to limit “all activities” following these sever “back spasms,” which is what his agent is still calling it. That led to a rescheduling of his Tuesday press conference to Wednesday and then a total cancellation of his appearance before the media. It sounds like he won’t make it to the course for anything this week — not the PR giggling, the visit to the TV tower, anything. So that’s a blow, along with Rory McIlroy having to back out with his own rib injury.

Tiger is the biggest draw in the history of the game so his absence will certainly impact what could have been monster ratings. Even without Tiger and Rory, there are so many reasons to watch an event that truly begins the pre-Masters prep stretch of the schedule. In addition to those multiple PGA TOUR LIVE streams, Golf Channel and CBS will split the TV coverage on their usual schedule all week and have the typical simulcast streams going too. Here’s the full media slate for the week at Riv (all times ET):

2 to 6 p.m. ET — Golf Channel

9:30 a.m. ET -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

3 to ~6 p.m. ET -- PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage (No subscription required)

2 to 6 p.m. ET — Golf Channel simulcast stream

Noon to 6 p.m. ET — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)

2 to 6 p.m. ET — Golf Channel

With rain expected to hammer Los Angeles all day Friday, expect multiple delays. PGA Tour Live will stay on the air well past the scheduled 6 p.m. ET end time and likely until play is called for darkness or rain. They did this on Thursday with the marquee groups until play was called -- those late groups on Friday would be the two threesomes from above that were featured on Thursday morning. All of this, of course, is subject to change as the storms roll into LA.

9:30 a.m. ET -- PGA Tour Live starts with coverage from range and opening holes

Featured Groups (PGA Tour Live subscription required)

3 to ~6 p.m. ET -- PGA Tour Live featured holes coverage (No subscription required)

2 to 6 p.m. ET — Golf Channel simulcast stream

Noon to 6 p.m. ET — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)

1 to 2:30 p.m. ET — Golf Channel

3 to 6 p.m. ET — CBS

11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET — PGA TOUR LIVE featured holes stream and featured groups stream

1 to 2:30 p.m. ET — Golf Channel LiveExtra simulcast stream

2:30 to 6 p.m. ET — PGATour.com/CBS simulcast stream

1 to 6 p.m. ET — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)

1 to 2:30 p.m. ET — Golf Channel

3 to 6:30 p.m. ET — CBS

10 a.m. to conclusion (darkness is 8:40 p.m. ET) — PGA TOUR LIVE featured holes stream and featured groups stream

PGA Tour LIVE tentative schedule

1 to 2:30 p.m. ET — Golf Channel LiveExtra simulcast stream

2:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET — PGATour.com/CBS simulcast stream

1 p.m. ET to conclusion — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 92/208 and streamed here)