Tiger Woods made his long-awaited return to action on Thursday, shooting a one-over par 72 on day one of the Genesis Invitational.
The golf icon, who is debuting his brand new ‘Sun Day Red’ clothing line after ending his relationship with Nike last month, is hosting this week’s event at the Riviera Country Club in California.
Woods last played in the father-son PNC Championship with his son Charlie in mid-December after missing most of the 2023 season with injuries.
The 48-year-old birdied the 17th and returned to level par before a terrible shaft on 18 left him behind a tree. He made it to the green, but couldn’t save his par.
Afterwards, Woods said: ‘My lap was good and a bit indifferent. I had trouble with the speed of the greens… they were a lot faster than I’ve ever seen here. I also didn’t feel like I hit many greens today. I missed a lot and had a bit of stress on my short game. I had like five pars today (note: it was seven), something stupid.’
Tiger Woods made his long-awaited return to action on the PGA Tour on Thursday
The golf icon debuted his brand new clothing line ‘Sun Day Red’ with TaylorMade
Woods, 48, last played in the father-son PNC Championship with his son Charlie in December
Compatriot Patrick Cantlay currently has the lead in the clubhouse with seven under par.
Woods is making his first PGA Tour start since the Masters due to ankle surgery.
He has played Riviera twelve times as a professional without ever winning, the most he has ever played on a course without winning.
Because it is one of three player-hosted events, the winner will receive $4 million instead of $3.6 million.
This marks the third time this year that a PGA Tour event has not had a defending champion, as Jon Rahm defected to LIV Golf. Six of the last ten winners in Riviera are now part of the Saudi-backed breakaway.
“I’ve never won this event,” Woods said. “I’ve played in this event since ’92 and in all the years I’ve played, I’ve never won this event. Hopefully I can figure something out and throw myself into contention and maybe get a ‘W’ at the end of the week.”
Woods has made 15 starts at the Genesis, the most he has ever made at any tournament without a win. Last year he finished in 45th place.
Running 72 holes has been his problem in recent years, but the 15-time champion said he can still hit the ball flush.
As usual, Woods drew a big crowd Thursday at the Riviera Country Club in California
Woods and Justin Thomas hug on the 18th green after the first round of The Genesis
He birdied the 17th and returned to level-par before a shaft on 18 left him behind a tree
“I don’t have the same speed as I used to, I can’t practice the same amount of hours, but I’m still working on making sure I can hit the ball in the middle of the face,” he said. “If I can do that consistently, one of the reasons I don’t have a choice right now is because my body just looks a little different from day to day, week to week.”
This is the third signature event of 2024, leading into the smaller, more star-studded field. There will be a 36-hole cut for the top 50 players plus ties, along with everyone within 10 strokes of the lead.
The 2024 season has so far been dominated by lesser-known players, except for Wyndham Clark, last year’s US Open champion. The six players who have won a tournament so far – Chris Kirk, Grayson Murray, then-amateur Nick Dunlap, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon, Clark and Canadian Nick Taylor – all came in at odds of 100-1 or higher.
This streak could end this week as 23 of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking battle for victory.
Woods, for what it’s worth, is 100-1 to win at BetMGM and 130-1 at DraftKings.
‘Trying to get used to the new feeling of the body. That’s always the challenge,” Woods said. ‘And the challenges of trying to get it ready for a tour. … We have work to do and we’re looking forward to it.”
