PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational to honour Kobe Bryant on 8th hole

Riviera Country Club will pay their respects to Kobe Bryant with special hole sign and flag...

Andy Roberts's picture
Tue, 11 Feb 2020
PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational to honour Kobe Bryant on 8th hole

This week's Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour will dedicate one of its holes at Riviera Country Club to Kobe Bryant, just three weeks after the Los Angeles Lakers basketball legend tragically died in a helicopter crash with eight others including his young daughther Gianna. 

Riviera's 433-yard par-4 8th hole will feature a special hole sign and flag that features Bryant's on-court nickname 'Mamba'. 

Rory McIlroy will align as the new World No.1 this week and he will be joined in the field by just about all the biggest names in golf such as Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Xander Schauffele.

The decision to honour Bryant at the Genesis Invitational comes two weeks after the Waste Management Phoenix Open also paid their respects to Bryant at TPC Scottsdale's famous par-3 16th hole when using a purple and gold flag with the numbers 8 and 24 on either side. 

The numbers 8 and 24 were also printed into the fairway leading up to the green, and the hole location for the final round was also set at 24 paces onto the green and eight paces from the left, as well as being cut that morning at 8:24am.

A number of players including Tony Finau and Justin Thomas were seen paying tribute to Bryant themselves by wearing basketball jerseys with his name on while they played the hole. Thomas wore Bryant's No.33 jersey that he wore at Lower Merion High School.

Thomas also stamped four of his new wedges with the phrases 'Mamba Mentality', 'Black Mamba', 'Kobe Bean Bryant' and 81 points'.

Following the event, Thomas auctioned off his four wedges and is donating funds from the sale to TheMambaOnThree Fund.