Tiger Woods Makes the Cut After Returning to Golf for the First Time Since July
Tiger Woods returned to the golf course on Thursday for his first competitive round of golf since the British Open in July, and the 15-time major winner did not disappoint.[0] After shooting a 69 in the first round, Woods followed it up with a 3-over par 74 in the second round. He finished the day at 1-over par and barely made the cut for the weekend.
Tiger Woods confessed earlier this week that he hasn't traversed 72 holes across four consecutive days in the current year – and it is probable that it has been much more than that.[1] At the Masters, he only managed to complete four rounds out of the three major tournaments he played in last year.[1] After 54 holes of the PGA Championship, he chose to withdraw and then failed to make the cut at The Open.[1]
Woods' last tournament was the Open Championship in July, where he failed to make the cut. Now, he is competing in the Genesis Invitational.[2] He announced his return to competition at the tournament, which he hosts, this past Friday.
“Making a cut’s a great thing. Tiger Woods stated on Tuesday that whenever he participates in an event, his goal is always to achieve a win. He added that at some point, his body won't enable him to do that anymore, and that this moment is likely to come sooner rather than later.[3] Understanding the transition from being a player to an ambassador role, and being around the guys, has been a challenge for me.[4] That is not part of my nature.[4]
Beginning his third round on Saturday, Woods birdied the par-4 10th hole and managed to stay bogey-free on the front nine, with two birdies in total.[1] After sinking a 12-foot birdie putt, he achieved a score of 5-under par for the round; however, he concluded his round with three consecutive pars followed by a bogey at the seventh hole.[5]
The Genesis Invitational will be broadcast on Golf Channel and Golfchannel.com on Saturday and Sunday from 1 pm to 3 pm, while PGA Tour Radio will cover the action from 1 pm to 6:30 pm.[6] The final group of Max Homa, Jon Rahm and Keith Mitchell will tee off No. 1 at 1:45 pm.[7] Woods will tee off later in the day at 11:38 am with Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, and Viktor Hovland.
0. “Tiger Woods announces return to competitive golf at The Genesis Invitational next week” CNN, 10 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/golf/tiger-woods-pga-tour-event-spt-intl/index.html
1. “Tiger Woods highlights: Going low Saturday at Riviera, nearly cards albatross” Golf Channel, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.golfchannel.com/news/tiger-woods-highlights-going-low-saturday-riviera-nearly-cards-albatross
2. “Tiger dazzles Saturday at Riviera, doesn't rule out another start before the Masters” Golf Channel, 19 Feb. 2023, https://www.golfchannel.com/news/tiger-dazzles-saturday-riviera-doesnt-rule-out-another-start-masters
3. “‘98%' of bets were on Tiger Woods to make the cut at Genesis, sportsbook CEO says” Fox Business, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.foxbusiness.com/sports/98-bets-were-tiger-woods-make-cut-genesis-sportsbook-ceo-says
4. “Tiger Woods shoots 69 in first competitive round since Open Championship, 5 off lead” Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/sports/tiger-woods-shoots-69-first-competitive-round-since-open-championship-5-off-lead
5. “Tiger Woods finds his form with resurgent 67 at Riviera” PGA TOUR, 18 Feb. 2023, https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2023/02/18/tiger-woods-finds-his-form-with-resurgent-67-at-riviera
6. “2023 Genesis Invitational live stream, watch online, TV schedule, channel, tee times, radio, golf coverage” CBS Sports, 19 Feb. 2023, https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/2023-genesis-invitational-live-stream-watch-online-tv-schedule-channel-tee-times-radio-golf-coverage/
7. “Third-round tee times for the Genesis Invitational: Tiger with Bez, Schwab” Golf Channel, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.golfchannel.com/news/third-round-tee-times-genesis-invitational-tiger-bez-schwab
