Tiger Woods Returns to Action at the Genesis Invitational
Tiger Woods made his much-anticipated return to professional golf on Thursday at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. Woods, joined by playing competitors Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, was greeted by a large crowd of fans eager to see how he would fare.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner started off with a birdie at the par-5 first, missing the fairway but then laying up and making a 4. He looked strong with a 180 mph ball speed on the par-4 third. A bogey at the par-3 fourth brought him back to even par for the round, but he was able to make a nice up and down from a greenside bunker to keep the score from getting worse.
Woods was mostly able to make par on the front nine, with a good save at the sixth and a missed birdie opportunity at the seventh. He was able to get back to red numbers with a birdie at the par-4 eighth, and then had a good drive at the ninth, setting up a chance for back-to-back birdies, but he two-putted for par to make the turn at 1-under 34.
The back nine started off poorly with bogeys at the tenth and twelfth, but he was able to get back to even with a birdie at the par-3 sixteenth. He then birdied the par-5 seventeenth to the biggest applause of the day, and then made it three birdies in a row with another at the eighteenth to finish with a 2-under 69.
It was a very encouraging start for Woods, and he has set himself up nicely to make a run at the tournament.
