Tiger Woods hadn’t made a start in a non-major, official PGA Tour event since the Zozo Championship in October 2020. That changed on Thursday.
The 82-time winner on Tour returns to competition this week at his Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, a designated event on the revamped Tour schedule that features a $20 million purse and top prize of $3.6 million. Woods will tee it up alongside good friends Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas for the first two rounds as he continues to regain strength and form after his single-car accident almost two years ago to the day.
Woods shot an opening-round 2-under 69 on Thursday. Check out his round below with shot-by-shot analysis.
Photos: Tiger at the Genesis | Tiger merch on sale
Hole 1 - Par 5
And we’re off. Tiger loses this 3-wood just a bit to the right off the fairway in the rough. Probably won’t have the greatest lie from there. Let’s see what he’s got. Smart play here from the big cat as he just lays it up to the front of the green. We’ll get a good preview of how tight his short game is from there, but he’s got plenty of green to work with and a clean angle at the hole.
Classy from the 15-time major champion here, clips his wedge perfectly and lets it roll around the cup, leaving just inside four feet for an opening birdie. Tiger taps in and puts a red circle on the first hole, a great start to the round (but let’s be honest, it’s an easy opening hole).
Early thoughts: so far, so good. He’s not limping and looked comfortable with his first three cuts at the ball. In recent comebacks he’s lost it around the turn, so let’s see if it can last over 18 holes.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 1.
Hole 2 - Par 4
Tiger missed to the right off the first and missed to the left off the second. Get you a player who can do both, am I right?
Good, not great approach from there finds the green, just on the short right edge to the back pin. He showed his touch with a wedge on the first, now we’ll get to see it with the putter from distance with this 41-footer for birdie.
Meh, not a bad effort there, had a pretty good line just couldn’t match it with the proper pace as it misses on the high side. No worries here as he cleans up his par putt from five feet. Same as last hole: great tempo in the swing, no hitch in his giddy up, calm as ever.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 2.
Hole 3 - Par 4
YAHTZEE! Tiger crushed this drive down the middle of the fairway and finds the short stuff for the first time today. That’s a 331 yard drive and leaves him just over 100 yards to the pin.
With 112 yards to the flag he left something to be desired here. Wide open green and he’s a club short, I mean that’s a good 30 feet short. He was the longest off the tee and after the approaches he’s the furthest away. Taking his sweet time to read this one, too. Gotta get it there if you want it to drop. Just like his approach, Tiger leaves his birdie putt short but taps in for par.
Three holes, three birdie putts. Not a bad start at all, folks.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 3.
Hole 4 - Par 3
Bad news bears for Tiger as the group is waiting on the long par 3 fourth, the first of Riv’s front nine. After all his surgeries and operations, it takes a while for the Cat to warm up. When he’s forced to wait, he stiffens up and that’s when he starts to look uncomfortable and the game goes south. This will be an early test of his fitness.
He’s sitting on a cooler readjusting the compression sock he’s wearing on his right foot that’s meant to help his ankle, his biggest ailment now following his single-car accident two years ago that nearly cost him his leg.
Still awake? After the lengthy delay the boys are ready to fire at the green. This one got away from him. Either the win or some extra juice after the wait sends this one off the back edge of the green into the first cut rough. Solid stroke, just a bit long. Time to get up-and-down. Foreshadowed the hell out of this one. Tiger leaves this chip well short and will now have a testy 10 footer to save his par. Left that one short, just didn’t pair the pasta with the sauce. First dropped shot of the day for Woods.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 4.
Hole 5 - Par 4
Tiger hits that patented low-flying stinger shot but this one misses the fairway as well and could leave a real tough second shot. Looks to be a sidehill lie, in the rough. Have fun with that.
He had an awkward stance and took a weird cut at this one just to advance it up the fairway and short of the green. Call him an egg because it’s time to scramble. He actually found the greenside bunker but no real damage done yet as he does really well to splash this one out and run it six feet past the hole. He even gets a complimentary ball clean from Rory McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond. People helping people, love to see it.
No damage indeed as Tiger calmly cleans up for par. What was that old MTV dating show? Next.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 5.
Hole 6 - Par 3
The second par 3 of the day is significantly shorter – a good 50 yards – than the first at 185 yards today. This has to be a bad club choice because the swing looked perfect and he left this considerably short, we’re talking Spud Webb short, people. That’s just inside 40 feet if he goes with putter from off the front edge, but I’d expect to see a chip shot here.
HA. What the hell do I know? Goes with putter and lags this one inside a foot for a tap-in par. A third of the way through the round and still so far, so good.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 6.
Hole 7 - Par 4
Another bad tee shot from Tiger and this is becoming a trend. Instead of the rough he finds himself in the bunker down the left side of the fairway, but he has just 114 to the front edge of the green. He absolutely loved this one and walked after it and for good reason. He went flag hunting and this one released to right around 10 feet for another look at birdie.
No dice as the birdie putt just misses once again. He’s creating chances, just needs to get a bit more dialed off the tee and on the greens and the scores will come.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 7.
Hole 8 - Par 4
B-e-a-utiful drive here right down the middle of the fairway here on No. 8 after some loose swings off the tee earlier in the round. Fades it with an envious ball flight and rolls out to 322 yards, his second longest drive of the day.
How good is this? Tiger throws an absolute dart at the green and spins it to perfection, leaving just three feet for a much-needed birdie. No doubt about this one, Tiger converts the birdie after the bombed drive and dialed approach. That’s a great jolt of momentum just before making the turn. He’s had a measured approach so far, let’s see if he pushes the pedal and increases the throttle here now.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 8.
Dialing it in at No. 8 🎯 @TigerWoods capitalizes with the wedge @TheGenesisInv. pic.twitter.com/xkhHvEIqPu
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 16, 2023
Hole 9 - Par 4
MASHED POTATOES! All gas, no brakes here as Tiger stepped on this one. 323 yards. Fairway. Useful. Also has a little laugh with good friend Justin Thomas walking down the fairway. Love to see Tiger out there having fun. Old Tiger wouldn’t have said much and gone about his business.
Maybe slightly too much club here? Tiger had a great line at the flag but lands this one a little long but still on the green. Moving a bit slower as he bends down to mark his ball here but let’s not look too much into that. That’ll leave about 23 feet to the cup for a shot at back-to-back birdies that’ll send this growing gallery into a frenzy.
Not a bad putt at all but you can see on his face that he absolutely expected this one to drop. No drama here, simple par and we keep it moving to the back nine.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 9.
Thoughts at the turn
All things considered, Tiger looks really good so far. Only one unforced error that he got penalized for with the bogey on No. 4, but two birdies and a fair share of other looks isn’t a bad start to his 2023.
The misses off the tee are cause for concern, but not much concern seeing as that’s been his main issue since the accident. His tempo is solid with his swing and putting stroke. The touch from inside 120 yards will come. If he can stay healthy, comfortable and not tire out, don’t be surprised to see him playing this weekend.
Hole 10 - Par 4
Classic tee shot down the hill to the drivable green just 302 yards away. Love this hole. The Big Cat has pulled the big stick and nope. He’s a good 50 yards short in the bunker to the left. Not what he was looking for. Oh man, he got absolutely jobbed with the lie there, too. He was up against the edge on the upslope and had to just pop this one out, still short of the green but in the fairway. He’s got plenty of green to work, though he’s chipping to a pin guarded by a few slopes and ridges.
Nope nope nope. Not good. Tiger got way too aggressive with this one, blows it past the flag and into the back bunker behind the green. All that momentum on the back of the front nine just vanished. Splashes this one out to seven feet for bogey, if not double. And then he reminds us he’s Tiger Woods. Paces in the bogey putt with ease and minimizes the damage. On to the next one.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 10.
Hole 11 - Par 5
There’s a bright and shiny opportunity to bounce back and get a birdie here on the par 5 after the bad bogey on No. 10, especially if he nukes his driver like he has the last few swings. Good contact and a decent line here but it just runs through the fairway off the right into the rough. Not great, not awful.
Short and left of the green with the approach, will depend on the lie whether or not he can get up-and-down for birdie. He’s got plenty of green to work with but opts to throw this one high in the air and leaves it short. Bold strategy, let’s see how it plays out. Misses the birdie putt high and on the pro side but taps in for birdie for par. Second easiest hole and that’s a tough, missed birdie chance.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 11.
Hole 12 - Par 4
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Tiger misses the fairway off the tee. One again to the right, but this one never had a shot at the short stuff. This should have been pretty penal but Tiger got a break that someone stepped on his ball, allowing him to drop and get a better lie. Still can’t find the green, though, as he pushed this one off the right side as well.
Tasty little chip here given the tricky pin location, leaving inside 10 feet for his par save. Didn’t look pretty but all things considered, not bad. Drops a shot here as his par putt refuses to drop. Either pulled it or didn’t see break, regardless, bogey.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 12.
Hole 13 - Par 4
FORE RIGHT. Tiger loses this one with driver immediately to the right. Call him Tanner on this hole because it’s bad news bears over there. It was always going to be tough to find the green and Tiger misses just short to the right. The short game has been hit or miss but this is classy, rolling to just three feet for what should be a somewhat stress-free, up-and-down par. Nothing to see here, taps in and strolls to the next tee.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 13.
Hole 14 - Par 3
Make an ace, win a car. Not a bad deal here at the par-3 14th, playing 183 yards today. Tiger had the best shot of the group, finding the front of the green, pin high. That’ll be about 18 feet for birdie and a chance to get back to even. Hasn’t made one from distance yet, why not now?
How is he leaving all of these putts short? Another missed opportunity for Tiger because he never gave himself a real shot. Some real disappointing efforts on the green today. Par.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 14.
Hole 15 - Par 4
That’s another absolute bomb off the tee, 331 yards and ahead of both Thomas and McIlroy in the fairway. If he can find that swing consistently, look out. He’s got just inside 150 yards to the front-right pin and sends this one long. He’ll have to lag putt from there for par most likely, or just bury it for birdie because he’s Tiger Woods. Let’s call it 60 feet.
Not the best effort but still a solid lag putt that will leave a knee-knocker from four feet for his par. For how iffy the long putts are, the short putts have been solid. Par. It’s all about silver linings, right?
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 15.
Hole 16 - Par 3
The shortest par 3 on the course plays to 166 yards today but this back right pin location might be tough to attack this afternoon. Once again, what the hell do I know? He hit the third best shot of the day on the 16th and stuffed his tee shot to just five feet. He was either aiming left or pulled it just a bit as this one just sneaks in the side of the cup for a much-needed birdie to get back to even.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 16.
Hole 17 - Par 5
Who knew the fans would show up to a golf tournament and also get tickets to a laser show. Tiger hit an absolute bullet down the fairway with some cheeky left-to-right action that rolled out to 322 yards. From 267 yards out Tiger pulls a fairway metal and just sneaks this one past some bunkers on the right of the green. This had some serious juice and rolls off the back edge into the rough, almost near the grandstand. He HAMMERED that.
Didn’t do himself any favors with his chip, leaving 24 feet for birdie, but he more than made up for it with his putter. He curled the birdie putt in with the confidence of a clean-up for par and and sends a jolt of electricity through the crowd. That’s back-to-back birdies. Fun to hear that Tiger roar again.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 under through 17.
Hole 18 - Par 4
Driver. Full send. Quick tee pick up. That thing ran like it owed him money. 317 yards. That’s short today compared to his other 320-plus yard bombs. He’s ending on a high note here with a phenomenal approach shot to set up a third consecutive birdie to close out his round. CHIRP-CHIRP-CHIRP! What a way to end the day. Tiger Woods, folks. That’s all you can say.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 2-under 69.
