At the onset of The Genesis Invitational, following a fairway split at the par-4 18th hole during the first round, Tiger Woods found himself at even-par for the day. However, his approach from 176 yards went awry, veering sharply towards the right tree line after a hosel contact. In a moment of disbelief, Woods dropped his club behind his back as the ball advanced only 71 yards, leaving him with a challenging 109-yard approach to the green. After a brief pause, Woods placed his hands on his hips, gazing ahead with a blank expression before refocusing to execute his third shot from the tree line to a distance of 15 feet, ultimately resulting in a two-putt bogey.
In reflecting on his shank at No. 18, Tiger Woods attributed it to a back spasm that had been troubling him for the past three holes, causing his body to lock up and his club to strike the ball hosel first.
When asked about the last time he encountered such a situation, Woods acknowledged it had been a considerable amount of time, particularly from the position he found himself in during The Genesis Invitational. Apart from attempting unconventional shots around the greens, he hadn’t experienced a similar occurrence.
The Genesis Invitational marked Woods’ return to the PGA TOUR since withdrawing from last year’s Masters due to injury, followed by subsequent ankle surgery. He resumed competitive play at the Hero World Challenge in December, followed by the PNC Championship alongside his son Charlie.
After the Hero World Challenge, Woods expressed his intention to participate in approximately one TOUR event per month this season, and his appearance at The Genesis demonstrated progress in this regard. While his ankle appeared to hold up well, Woods faced challenges due to competitive rust, hindering his ability to capitalize on favorable scoring conditions at Riviera. Despite averaging 304.1 yards off the tee, Woods struggled with accuracy, hitting eight of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens, while requiring 30 putts in the opening round.
Reflecting on his return to competition after an extended hiatus, Woods acknowledged the difficulty in adequately preparing for the adrenaline rush and adjustments in yardages experienced in competitive golf compared to practice rounds.
At The Genesis, a Signature Event, the 36-hole cut will include the top 50 players and ties, along with any players within 10 shots of the lead after the second round.
Tiger Woods began his Thursday round with an impressive birdie, executing an up-and-down from just right of the green on the par-5 first, sinking a 4-footer. However, he faced setbacks with consecutive bogeys on Holes 2 and 3. Woods quickly regained momentum with birdies on both of the front nine’s par 3s, holing a 15-footer at No. 4 and a 14-footer at No. 6, and then maintained consistency with three consecutive pars to complete the front nine in 1-under 34.
The Los Angeles-area native encountered difficulty at the short par-4 10th hole, as his tee shot landed in the back greenside bunker, 30 feet away from the hole. Forced to play out horizontally, he chipped to 8 feet but couldn’t capitalize, resulting in a frustrating bogey. Tiger Woods, aged 48, responded with a 15-foot birdie at the par-5 11th, executed from just off the green. However, he faced further challenges, bogeying both Nos. 12 and 15, ultimately moving over par for the day.