Cameron Champ withdraws from Genesis Invitational due to winter storm in Texas

Cameron Champ has withdrawn from the Genesis Invitational.

The PGA Tour announced the move Wednesday night. Champ’s representatives told Golf Digest the decision is related to the winter storms hitting Texas, where Champ has a home in Houston.

Champ was scheduled as one of the featured pairings at Riviera with Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, the three longest drivers on tour this season. With Champ out of the mix, that dynamic changes: In Champ’s place is Andrew Putnam, who ranks 197th in driving distance this year.

Champ has been off to a slow start in 2021. He finished T-31 in the limited-field Tournament of Champions and followed with three straight missed cuts. However, Champ recently has been in the news for reasons outside his play, as the 25-year-old has used his bag to advertise Black-owned small businesses during the month of February.

“I just want to do something a little different since we’re still dealing with all these issues and smaller business owners are taking a pretty big hit,” Champ told Golf Digest earlier this month. “I thought that was just a way to try to give back a little bit just to help them out some.”