Tiger Woods, fighting back spasms, opens with 72 in return at Riviera
Any chance of Tiger Woods breaking par in his first official PGA Tour event in 10 months ended Thursday with one swing and a five-letter word he wasn’t afraid to say.
Woods said his back started to cramp during the last few holes of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He said this resulted in his 8-iron shooting into the eucalyptus trees at a 45-degree angle from the middle of the 18th fairway.
“Oh, I definitely violated it,” Woods said. “My back cramped the last few holes and it locked up. I came down and it didn’t move and I presented Hosel first and shook it.
It was no less shocking for the 48-year-old Woods, even at this stage of his career when his back and legs have undergone more surgeries than he has won majors (15). Woods couldn’t remember the last time he hit a cold shank — essentially hitting the ball anywhere but the clubface — except when he hit a few fanciful flop shots around the green.
At least he put it behind him quickly. His shaft was behind some eucalyptus trees that frame the right side of the fairway. The shot required the same club he had just hit – an 8-iron – for a low shot through the trees. And it came out beautifully up to 15 feet.
“I had a little window there and tried to hit a punch-hook 8-iron after just shining an 8-iron,” he said. “I said, ‘Okay, the next shot should be the harder shot.’ And yes, that was because I had to hammer a small punch hook through a small hole there.
“And I got it done, which is good.”
He still missed the putt and had to settle for a 72,
he is eight shots behind Patrick Cantlay and needs to play better on Friday if he wants to stay all weekend and wear his new Sun Day Red gear for golf and not just the trophy ceremony.
Woods, as host of the tournament, was adamant about signature events having a 36-hole cut, and the PGA Tour agreed that the player-hosted events would have a cut to the top 50 and ties, and everyone within 10 shots of the leadership.
Woods scored five birdies on an immaculate day at Riviera, with mostly sunshine and a brisk late afternoon breeze. There were also a lot of mistakes, which he expected after not having to deal with such a large field (70 players) since the Masters.
He was particularly fooled by the surprising speed of the greens on a course that had been soaked by heavy rain in Southern California for the past two weeks.
“A lot of good and a lot of indifferent. It was one or the other,” Woods said. “I don’t know how many pars I had – it wasn’t many (seven). I made birdies or bogeys and never really got anything consistent today.”
He had three birdies on the par 5, going up and down twice. He rolled birdies from 15 feet on the par 3s on the front nine. But there were careless mistakes and one bad break. His drive on the famous 10th hole reached the green and raced across the green with such speed that it was a foot away from the back lip. He had to play sideways, chipped eight feet from the hole and made a bogey.
Woods had fused his ankle after the Masters and played twice late last year: his Hero World Challenge (he placed 18th in a field of 20) and the 36-hole PNC Championship with his son Charlie.
He felt well enough during his event in the Bahamas and hoped for one tournament a month. But he also said to expect more competitive rest if he wasn’t playing much.
“Making those kinds of adjustments along the way and the feel for a lap and how to make those adjustments, I haven’t done that in a while,” he said. “Like I said when we played Hero, I was getting better every day, but then again I haven’t played for a while. That’s a bit frustrating about it.”
He still drew the biggest crowds, with spectators on the clubhouse balcony to watch his opening tee shot and lining the entire side of the first fairway, a par 5 where Woods birdied a pitch and a putt from the right side of the green.
The end of the round caught everyone’s attention. A shank is rare, especially for Woods, but it’s been a while since he talked about back spasms. Woods underwent four back procedures starting in 2016 until he decided to undergo spinal fusion surgery.
Woods said he has experienced spam at home, but not during the game.
“As far as the physical ups and downs, that’s just part of my body, that’s part of what it is,” he said. “That’s okay. I accept it and accept the challenges.”