By CNN
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Tiger Woods shot a one-over-par 72 on his return to competitive PGA Tour action on Thursday at the Genesis Invitational, but finished his round with a huge shank to blot his outing.
The 48-year-old – restricted to a limited schedule after suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident in 2021 – had not featured at a PGA Tour event since playing the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December, but returned for the event he hosts at Los Angeles’ Riviera Country Club.
The 15-time major winner carded five birdies and six bogeys as he took to the course again.
However, Woods admitted afterwards that he was dealing with back spasms for the final three holes of his round, something which helped to contribute to the shank on the 18th hole.
After finding the fairway on the final hole, Woods’ second shot veered dramatically to the right into the trees, traveling just 71 yards and leaving him a tricky 109-yard approach to the green.
His third swing did find the green and he was able to two-putt for a closing bogey which left him eight shots behind early leader Patrick Cantlay.
Woods admitted that it had “been a while” since he’d shanked a shot from a similar position, while also explaining the difficulty of preparing for a return to competitive golf.
“I rely so much on experience and having done this a long time, but still having the adrenaline dump in the system, ball goes further, speed goes up, just the yardages are a little bit different than they are at home,” Woods said afterwards. “It’s just different, and that’s just a part of playing competitive golf.”
Organized by the Tiger Woods Foundation and classed as one of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events, offering increased prize purses and FedEx Cup points, many of the circuit’s biggest stars are featuring at the Genesis Invitational, including all of the world’s top 10 ranked players, except new LIV Golf recruit Jon Rahm.
Woods is chasing his first PGA Tour win since his record-equaling 82nd triumph at the Zozo Championship in October 2019.
After undergoing ankle surgery in April 2023, Woods finished 18th out of a 20-player field in his first tournament in eight months at the Hero World Challenge, before pairing with his son Charlie to play the PNC Championship in Florida later in December.
The duo finished tied-fifth out of 20 teams formed of past major or Players Championship winners and a family member at the Ritz-Carlton Club, six shots behind the winning pairing of Bernhard Langer and his son Jason.
Woods has said he is aiming to play in one tournament a month this year.
CNN’s Jack Bantock contributed to this report.
