Tiger Woods will be back on the golf course for his first PGA Tour tournament since the Masters.
The Genesis Invitational starts Thursday at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., a place Woods knows very well but has never won. In fact, it is the course he has played the most times as a professional (12 tournaments) without winning.
The 15-time major winner underwent ankle surgery in April, shortly after withdrawing from the Masters in the third round because of plantar fasciitis in his foot. Woods competed in the Hero World Challenge in December and placed 18th.
USA TODAY Sports will provide updates from Woods' first round at Riviera.
There were nervous moments for Woods on the challenging 12th hole. After entering the hole and hitting six of nine fairways, Woods sent his tee shot wide, straight into the line of spectators to the right of the fairway. He wasn't alone in the wilderness, as Justin Thomas also missed right off the tee. Under the watchful eyes of the cell phone gallery, Woods sent his second shot into the bunker but recovered and landed his third shot on the green. Woods missed his putt for birdie but tapped in for birdie.
Woods took advantage of the birdie-friendly 11th hole at Riviera to get back under par. After hitting the fairway off the tee, Woods placed his second shot to the left of the fairway among the gathered spectators. His third shot was a close miss as it hit the edge of the rough rather than the edge of the green. Woods coolly sank the putt from the edge of the green to get back to one under par.
Tiger immediately had problems starting his second nine. On the 10th, his tee shot went over the green and into the left back greenside bunker. He managed to get out of trouble and get back onto the green, where he allowed himself an eight-foot putt for par, but he missed the hole and made bogey
As he finished his play on the front nine, Woods' tee shot hit the left fairway on another par 4, leaving him a manageable 164 yards to attempt another birdie. A four-foot putt on his third shot was true as he settled for par and a score of -1 after the first nine holes
Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris are tied for the lead at 5 under.
On No. 8, Woods hit the tee shot to his left and landed in the right fairway of the 436-yard par-4 hole, with the second hitting the green just a few feet from the rough. He was left with a 17-foot putt for birdie. He missed the birdie putt but made the easy two-footer for par.
Tiger hit the fairway on No. 7, giving himself another golden opportunity to make a splash in the leaderboard. His second shot left him about 40 feet from the cup. Later, his five-foot tap-in saved par.
On No. 6, where Woods had another chance to capitalize on a par 3, he hit his tee shot straight over the green and continued his consistent iron play, finishing 14 feet from the hole. After the birdie putt he is below average again.
Tiger's No. 5 tee shot gives him another excellent start, hitting a three-wood down the right fairway 152 yards from the hole. He left his second shot about eight feet short of the cup and had a chance to get back under par. But his putter failed him as he overshot the hole, leaving him with a two-foot par tap.
No. 4 is a 232-yard par 3 and Woods' drive was excellent. He landed on the green 15 feet from the hole as he tried to recover from two straight bogeys. He easily taps in the birdie to get back to par.
On the 448-yard par 4 No. 3, Tiger's tee shot went wide right and landed in the rough in the golf cart's path, and his second shot was no better, which he placed right in front of the greenside bunker. The third shot from the bunker landed 6 feet from the hole, but he missed the putt badly and had to chip in from 3 feet away, making his second hole in a row a bogey.
So far, Tiger is hitting the ball well, hitting the middle of the fairway on No. 2 off the tee, leaving him 174 yards from the hole on the 480-yard par 4. The second shot hit just right of the fairway, giving him 50 yards to try and save par. His third shot over the hole still landed on the green, 15 feet from the cup, but that good start ended with a bogey on No. 2, dropping him back to even par.
Woods is paired with Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland. Woods' tee shot began on hole No. 1, a 498-yard par 5, and went nearly 300 yards to the right in rough, just off the fairway. He used a 5-wood on the second shot and left the third shot on the green three feet from the hole for an excellent birdie opportunity. Woods goes for birdie.
Woods is wearing his new clothes, Sun Day Red, after announcing a split from Nike last month. Woods is wearing a white sweater with a black shirt underneath and a black hat with the new Tiger logo. The logo has 15 stripes, one for each of Woods' 15 major victories. He is also introducing a new golf ball, the 2024 Bridgestone TOUR B X.
Tiger Woods tees off on Thursday at 12:25 p.m. ET in a group with Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland.
The group's tee time on Friday is 2:54 p.m. ET.
The Genesis Invitational will air throughout the weekend on the Golf Channel and CBS.
- Thursday: Golf Channel 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
- Friday: Golf Channel 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
- Saturday: Golf Channel 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, CBS 3:00 p.m. ET to 7:00 p.m. ET
- Sunday: Golf Channel 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, CBS 3:00 p.m. ET to 6:30 p.m. ET