Tipster profile image
Stefan Tonev
twitter iconlikedin icon
Sports Editor authorBadge
Last Updated:

5 min read

Woods finishes with three straight birdies on long-awaited return
google news logo Follow us
Add comment
The 15-time major champion, making his first competitive appearance since last summer, signed for 2-under

Tournament host Tiger Woods said he was delighted to finish with three straight birdies on his return to competitive golf on Thursday after the former world number 1 carded a 2-under-par 69 in the opening round of the Genesis Invitational.

The 15-time major champion made his long-awaited comeback to competitive golf at Riviera Country Club – his first appearance at that level since last July.

It marked the 47-year-old Woods’ first non-Major event on the PGA Tour since October 2020.

The American, who continues to deal with leg injuries sustained in a serious car crash in February 2021, began his round with a birdie on the par-5 first before he bogeyed the par-3 fourth. He chipped into a bunker on the 10th to drop another shot, then bogeyed the 12th also.

But Woods, who was partnered with close friends Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, reeled off three consecutive birdies from 16 – he sank a 23-foot putt on 17 to whip the large galleries into a frenzy – to finish in a tie for 27th, five shots off leaders Max Homa and Keith Mitchell.

“There’s nothing like come game time, just the feeling of the butterflies and trying to calm all that stuff down,” said Woods. “The adrenaline, the ball goes further.

“Even though it’s cold out here, it was going even further than we expected. I had to dial all that back in. Misses, angles, wind – these are all things that have come second nature to a lot of these guys. I haven’t really done this in a while.”

“Ebbs and flows. It was nice that I had this unbelievable pairing, two great guys, two great friends. The people were obviously very supportive, they were just cheering all of us on, which is great. Just made this whole tournament better.

“I happened to actually hit some good shots finally and made a couple putts. Even though I had a little mishap at 10, I was able to fight back and get it going. It was a nice finish.”

On turning around his round, Woods said: “Last year you saw it, I didn’t finish off the rounds right. Those are things that I hadn’t done and I hadn’t played a whole lot, so I was chastising myself pretty hard coming off of 12 saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got to really get this thing going.