Tiger Woods returned to PGA Tour action in style on Thursday and will be hoping for more of the same on Friday.
The 82-time winner on Tour returned 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. Playing alongside good friends Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas for the first two rounds, Woods birdied his final three holes on Thursday for a 2-under 69 to put himself in position to make the weekend cut.
Follow Woods’ second round at the 2023 Genesis Invitational with shot-by-shot live updates from Riviera.
Photos: Tiger at the Genesis | Tiger merch on sale
Pre-round thoughts
Woods was ho-humming his way around the course on Thursday until he caught fire down the stretch. He stuffed his tee shot at the par-3 16th, canned his first 20-plus footer of the round on No. 17 and then followed suit with a great approach and putt on the last.
He’s still recovering from a single-car accident that nearly cost him his leg and was moving pretty well for most of the first round. It will say a lot about his fitness and form if he can go from the late to early tee time today and make it through 18 holes relatively unscathed.
Expectations for the Big Cat have to be tempered after his countless operations, no matter how good he looked for stretches on Thursday. At this point on his comeback, he’s looking for consistency while he builds back strength. So far, so good.
Hole 10 - Par 4
Here we go. Woods went with driver on Thursday at the drivable par-4 10th but laid back with an iron this morning. He’s in the short stuff to start the day after a great-looking cut. It’s early and cold, so easing into the round with an iron and leaving a clean shot from the fairway was smart.
Threw this one high in the air from 82 yards and he’s pin high with a great look at birdie as his ball just checks up on the edge of the green. Nice and smooth start here from TW. Misses this one from eight feet on the amateur side, just didn’t pair the pace with the line. That’s a stress-free par and we’re off and running.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 1 (2 under overall)
Hole 11 - Par 5
The Big Cat pulls the big stick for the first time and this is hammered down the right side of the fairway. It just rolls into the first cut rough but appears to have a pretty good lie. Tiger poked that one a good 316 yards and tried to jump on his second but comes up just short of the green, giving himself a good shot to get up-and-down for an early birdie.
Nifty little chip there releases and runs out to four feet. The touch is still there and it’s only going to get better. The putting stroke needs some work, though. He races the birdie putt three feet past but cleans up for par. No damage but that’s a real bummer of a missed chance.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 2 (2 under overall)
Hole 12 - Par 4
FORE RIGHT. That’s right of right. This one never had a shot and Tiger could be in some trouble here. He actually got a little lucky. It hit a tree and kicked back to the left in the rough towards the fairway. He’s a long way from the green but he’s at least got a shot at it.
This one comes up short of the green in the bunker guarding the front right. Time to scramble. He’s really disappointed after this one skates past the cup but he really couldn’t have done much better with the green running away from him. He’s got 15 majors but ya can’t beat physics. That’ll be about 14 feet for par but he doesn’t give it the credit it deserves and misses on the right. Bogey. Toughest hole on the course, sure, but he didn’t make it any easier on himself.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 3 (1 under overall)
Hole 13 - Par 4
The miss on Thursday was right and the same holds true today as Tiger loses another one off the tee, this time into the gallery, and without a helpful kick off a tree. He came away with a pretty good lie and actually had a shot at the flag from 138 yards out but he left it short, maybe a club short. Stressful par saves are becoming an early trend today.
Well, that was a pretty timid approach. Left it below the hole from just 28 feet and has a knee-knocker from five feet for par. He’s Tiger Woods so his legs weren’t shaking like Elvis but he will be singing the back-to-back bogey blues as this one fails to drop.
He needs to stop the bleeding soon if he wants a weekend tee time.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 2 over through 4 (Even overall)
Hole 14 - Par 3
Inches away from an ace here. I mean this was perfect. He lands his tee shot on the fringe and lets it release towards the back right pin for a tap-in birdie. Really nothing much to say here, just a perfect shot at the right time to keep his round in check.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 5 (1 under overall)
Hole 15 - Par 4
That poor golf ball. Tiger almost sent this one into orbit. TourCast stats say that’s a 364-yard drive which is just flat-out insane. He’ll have a wedge to the green and a great chance to get back to even on the day.
And I’m … not quite sure how to describe what happened here. He did what any weekend hacker will do with a wide open green and perfect lie from the fairway: hit it fat and came up woefully short. He’s not even on the green from 118 yards out.
Plenty of green to work with from here but he juices this one past the cup. It took a big jump forward and just didn’t check up, leaving a testy 10 footer for par. Needed this one and he dropped it in the center of the cup for a par. No damage done but that’s a real missed opportunity after the bomb off the tee.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 6 (1 under overall)
Hole 16 - Par 3
This is where it all started yesterday for Woods. He threw a dart to a back-right pin in round one and on Friday he did the same, leaving just five feet for birdie after a b-e-a-utiful tee shot, the best of the group.
Didn’t pair the pasta with the sauce and that’s another really disappointing effort. Nothing wrong with par, don’t get me wrong, but that’ got to be a birdie.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 7 (1 under overall)
Hole 17 - Par 5
Unlike his last drive, this one is in some trouble. Tiger misses the fairway and winds up in the bunker down the right side. No shot at the green from here and he does well to lay up to a number and simply advance down the fairway. Boring? Yes. Effective? You bet.
From there he had 180 yards to the back pin, uphill with the wind in his face and still stuffed it like a turkey. He’ll have inside four feet for birdie and it’d be shocking if he missed this one. Chirp-chirp! Second birdie of his opening nine and back to even he goes. This round may just blossom into a beauty.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 8 (2 under overall)
Hole 18 - Par 4
Just isn’t swinging the driver with any consistency today, other than the fact that the miss is right. He’s just off the fairway in the first cut and with 154 yards to the pin he misses left in the rough. Won’t have a lot of green to work but shouldn’t be an overly difficult shot, either.
Classy up-and-down here from Tiger and he avoids the dropped shot with ease. Played the contour of the green perfectly with his chip and will make the turn with a little pep in his step.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 9 (2 under overall)
Thoughts at the turn
The story of today so far is missed chances. Tiger could very easily be near the top of the leaderboard right now if it weren’t for some bad swings and putts. There are at least two birdies sitting out there on the back nine that he didn’t pick up and probably should have.
He seems to be handling the early (and cold) tee time so far. There are a few labored steps here and there but he appears to be comfortable out there walking the course so far. Let’s see if he can lock in a spot for the weekend.
Hole 1 - Par 5
The distance is there for Tiger off the tee but the accuracy just isn’t there yet. His ball came to rest on a gravel path that cuts across the 10th fairway but instead of taking relief with a drop a few yards back in the grass, he played it from the path and lost it long and right.
Not the easiest shot from the rough but Tiger does well to get this one to eight feet for another birdie chance to kick start his second nine. Nope. Just misses on the right side and taps in for par. You could tell from the reaction he expected that to drop. He’s frustrated walking towards No. 2 tee.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 10 (2 under overall)
Hole 2 - Par 4
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before but Tiger’s drive just misses the fairway, you guessed it, to the right. He’ll have just inside 180 yards to a back-right pin, which isn’t an easy location to reach on that green.
Pretty safe shot here for Tiger who finds the fairway just in front of the green. Plenty to work with and Tiger once again gets too aggressive with a chip and rolls it past the pin a good 10 feet. He’s not making it easy on himself today but at the same time he’s also making it look easy because this putt was in the hole the whole way. Next.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 11 (2 under overall)
Hole 3 - Par 4
YAHTZEE! Loved this one as soon as it jumped off the face. 364 yards. Fairway. Absolutely smoked. He’s got a real taste for wasting great drives with awful approaches because this was just flat-out bad. Had it on a good line but just spanks it way too long and runs off the back edge.
An iffy chip left a tester from five feet but Tiger kept the round on cruise control with yet another save. He’s done a lot of things right today, just rarely on the same hole.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 12 (2 under overall)
Hole 4 - Par 3
No birdies just yet today on what the legendary Ben Hogan called “the greatest par 3 in America. From 242 yards Tiger hit a great shot that landed on the front edge and just ran off the back. With a tight pin location it’s tough to hold shots on the green from that distance so he did about as good as you can expect.
And then about as poor as you can expect. He hammered this one and missed it low will now have another 10 footer to save par. As smooth and calm as can be, Tiger paces this one to the bottom of the cup for another clutch par save to avoid bogey.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 13 (2 under overall)
Hole 5 - Par 4
Tiger hit that patented low-flying stinger shot with an iron and finds the fairway with ease here at No. 5. The focus from here on out has to be minimize mistakes and take chances when you can to secure a weekend tee time. Solid strike here from Tiger finds the green and just holds on to the edge below the hole, leaving an uphill look at birdie.
Nothing to see here, misses the birdie putt on the right side and cleans up for a two-putt par. On to the next one.
TIGER ON THE DAY: Even through 14 (2 under overall)
Hole 6 - Par 3
One of the more unique holes on the Tour’s schedule, the par-3 6th features a bunker in the middle of the green and the pin today is at the back.
Tiger’s tee shot was on a great line but maybe a few feet short as it catches a slope and runs down to the front of the green, leaving a lengthy look at the hole. From 71 feet he tried to putt around the bunker but didn’t give it enough speed and instead putted it directly in the bunker. He quickly splashed out to five feet and took his time over the bogey putt. It’s a unique sand save after a sketchy decision. Could have been worse.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 15 (1 under overall)
Hole 7 - Par 4
Tiger lays back with another stinger, this time with the 3 wood and finds the short stuff. It’s just a thing of beauty. Tiger had 160 yards to the flag and finds the front half of the green, leaving 30-plus feet for birdie. It looked like he was going to bang this one in similar to No. 17 yesterday but instead it just rolls below the hole, leaving a tap-in for par.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 1 over through 16 (1 under overall)
Hole 8 - Par 4
Well this is new, Tiger missed off the tee to the left. He’s in a bunker and just punched this one out with ease, didn’t think about it much, just advanced up the fairway and took his medicine. He was near the edge of a tall lip and elected to play it safe. You don’t win 82 times by being stupid.
He flew his approach long and off the back edge, leaving a difficult putt to save par from off the green. He had a really good line but just left it an inch or two short. That drops him to even for the tournament, right on the projected cut line.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 2 over through 17 (Even overall)
Hole 9 - Par 4
Another tee shot, another blown drive to the right. Just didn’t have it with the big stick today as he hit just five of 14 fairways. His approach from the trampled down rough comes up short of the green in the bunker and according to the broadcast the lie is just awful. He has no choice but to just blast this one out, can’t control the spin at all and it rolls off the back edge. He’s got a chip shot from 14 feet that catches the lip but refuses to drop, meaning he’ll settle for bogey and walk off the course one shot off the projected cut line.
TIGER ON THE DAY: 3 over 74 (1 over for the tournament)
