Tiger Woods Impresses in Return to PGA Tour at Genesis Invitational
Tiger Woods made his return to the PGA Tour at the Genesis Invitational after a seven-month absence, and he did so in impressive fashion. Despite still dealing with a lingering injury, Woods was able to shoot a 2-under 69 in the first round, highlighted by three birdies on the last three holes. He is currently five shots behind co-leaders Max Homa and Keith Mitchell. Woods' round was far from easy, as he had to grind for clutch pars and bounce back from three bogeys. However, he was able to hit shots with ease, routinely hitting the ball over 320 yards off the tee and outdriving both Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas on a few holes. While there was an expectation that the back nine would be tough for Woods to endure given his physical state, his game improved as the round progressed. After making bogeys on the 10th and 12th holes, Woods made three straight pars before hitting the shot of the day on the 16th hole, setting up a five-foot birdie putt that seemed to give him the spark he needed. He then went on to birdie the par-5 17th and 18th holes to cap off a fantastic round. Woods' return is an encouraging one given his health, but the real test will come in the second round. After finishing his first round past 5 p.m. local time, Woods is set to play the second round at 7:24 a.m. the following day, with just a 14-hour turnaround to get his body ready for another 18 holes in cooler weather. Woods explained that the time in between will feature plenty of icing and treatment in order to get ready. Overall, it was clear that Woods was having fun being back on the tour, but the joy he showed after the round remained tied to him performing well and having a chance to win. As he stated, "That's the only reason why I tee it up." Read the full article