The legendary Tiger Woods made his season debut on the PGA Tour at The Genesis Invitational on Thursday.
For the 15-time Major champion, hosting the tournament to open his season was a sign of a fresh start after multiple injury-plagued years.
“A W would be nice,” Tiger Woods said Wednesday to reporters.
The fresh start came after a 2023 PGA season in which Woods had to withdraw from the Masters in the second round due to a foot injury. He would not return to the PGA Tour until the Hero World Challenge in late-November.
With Woods looking to return to pre-injury form, his first round in Pacific Palisades, Calif. was a mixed bag. It also included an unbelievable shank on 18.
The all-time great opened it up on the 1st hole with a birdie on a Par 5.
Woods would go on to bogey both the 2nd and 3rd before getting birdies on two of the next three holes. That included the par three 6th hole.
Woods definitely looked himself at times throughout Round 1. That included an amazing lay-up on to the green.
After yet another birdie on 17, Woods thought he had finished the day even par. He was just one of three players on the day to reach the 609-yard par-5 in two shots. It was something.
Unfortunately, Woods would go on to absolutely shank his second shot on the par-5 18. It was not pretty. At all.
As was the case throughout the day, Woods’ performance continued to be up-and-down as it concluded. He followed that shank up with an absolutely brilliant third shot to get to within 15 feet.
He couldn’t save par, finishing plus-one on the day with a bogey on 18.
Patrick Cantlay found himself as the leader in the clubhouse at minus-7. As for Woods, he’ll need to fix these bogeys if the legend wants to remain in contention through Friday’s round.
Related: A fresh new Tiger Woods looks to get back on track
PGA world reacts to Tiger Woods mediocre return at The Genesis Invitational
Despite his recent struggles with injuries and inability to compete on a consistent basis, Woods is still the talk of the PGA Tour. He remains a selling point for golf. Reactions from Thursday’s Round 1 proved this to a T.
Unfortunately, those reactions were primarily about Woods’ shank on 18.
Other reactions were more friendly.