A shank, an untimely spasm and an uneven, 1-over round in Tiger’s return
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – The only thing more stunning than seeing Tiger Woods without his Nike swoosh was the shot he hit Thursday into the final hole at Riviera.
A stone-cold shank.
In a fitting end to an uneven round at the Genesis Invitational, Woods hoseled an 8-iron into the trees and made a closing bogey in an opening round of 1-over 72 that will leave him with work to do to make the cut in the $20 million signature event.
On an ideal day for scoring, Woods mixed five birdies with six bogeys as he chipped away the rust in what was his first official start in 10 months.
“A lot of good and a lot of indifferent,” he said afterward. “It was one or the other.”
When Woods finished his round, he was tied for 55th – typically not a concern in this new era of signature events, but because this is a player-hosted invitational, the limited field will be trimmed Friday night to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead. Patrick Cantlay leads the way after a 64.
In a cream-colored sweater and slacks from his new apparel line, Sun Day Red, Woods never pushed deeper than 1 under par Thursday, failing to build any momentum throughout the round while going just 2-for-8 scrambling. Afterward, he attributed the sloppiness to a lack of competitive reps.
“It’s sharpness,” he said. “Making adjustments on the fly like that, and the feel for a round and how to make those adjustments, I haven’t done that in a while. I haven’t played in a while. That’s kind of the frustrating part of it.”
It’s an open question whether Woods will be able to put in the necessary work to get ready for game time. After being limited by injuries the past two years following his car crash, he said he hoped to play roughly once a month through the summer. But even that meager schedule is tenuous and dependent on how his brittle body feels.
“I’m hoping that’s the case, hoping that I play that much,” he said. “As far as physical ups and downs, that’s just part of my body. That’s part of what it is. That’s all right. I accept it and accept the challenges.”
Trying to peak around the majors, Woods acknowledged that rust will continue to be an issue in his new normal and that he’ll need to fine-tune his preparation at home.
“We need to do a better job with lifting and treating and continuation of rehab protocols, all those things,” he said. “I just haven’t done it in a while.”
Another thing he hasn’t done in ages: hit a shank in competition.
Tiger shanks second shot on 18, saves bogey
Tiger Woods shanked his second shot on the 18th hole in Round 1 of The Genesis Invitational, but a spectacular recovery on his third shot helped him save bogey and finish with a 1-over 72.
Woods was looking to close his round with one last birdie when his back locked up over an 8-iron from 176 yards on the home hole. Catching hosel first, his ball went screaming into the trees and down into the native area. Though he hit a nice recovery shot to 15 feet, he never got his par-saver on-line.
Woods said his back spasmed over the last few holes, and when asked why, he smiled: “Because my back is fused.”
It was yet another reminder that his health concerns extend beyond just the serious injuries sustained to his lower right leg three years ago.
“Things are a little bit sore, but that’s to be expected,” he said. “That’s nothing we weren’t prepared for, and we’ve got some work to do tonight and tomorrow.”