For someone who hasn’t played competitive golf since last summer, Tiger Woods showed a little rust. But his putting drew some familiar roars and kept him in decent shape to make the cut after scoring a 2-under 69 in the first round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera on Thursday.
Woods, who has never won a tournament at Riviera in 11 previous attempts, birdied the final three holes to trail co-leaders Max Homa and Keith Mitchell. Homa and Mitchell’s 7-under 64s left them one stroke ahead of World No. 3 Jon Rahm.
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Woods was playing in his first tournament since missing the cut at St. Andrews at last summer’s British Open.
When he left the course after 16 holes at Wednesday’s pro-am, it was a wonder if he would challenge to make the cut, saying he still has concerns over the badly injured ankle stemming from his 2021 car crash.
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Making the cut didn’t look as good for Woods through 15 holes as middle to 1-over par, but the strong finish alleviated any worries.
“I was able to fight back and get it going,” Woods said. “It was a nice finish.”
Keeping the momentum he built on the back nine on Thursday would help Woods, who was tied for 27th and the top 65 players including ties make the cut after two rounds. He made five birdies to go with three bogeys on Thursday. And his 1.583 putts per green in regulation helped keep him close to the leaderboard.
Woods’ playing partners, Rory McIlroy (4-under) and Justin Thomas (3-under), also put on shows for the lively group.
According to The Associated Press, his 11 finishes without a victory at Riviera is the most at any PGA Tour course. He admitted before the tournament that is the reason he stopped playing this tournament after the 2006 event.
“I haven’t played in a tournament in long time,” Woods said. “I didn’t look up as much. I was trying to calm myself down all day, figure out what the hell I’m doing out here.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot a 1-under 70 to tie for 44th. Matt Kuchar, two-time major winner Collin Morkawa, and Harris English are tied for fourth, two shots back of Homa and Mitchell.
Woods, McIlroy and Thomas tee off at 10:24 a.m. ET on Friday.
