Back spasms take toll on Tiger Woods in PGA Tour return
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Tiger Woods mixed five birdies with six bogeys – including one at the last after he shanked his second shot into the trees.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LOS ANGELES – Tiger Woods settled for a haphazard one-over 72 in the first round of the Genesis Invitational on Feb 15, as his surgically repaired back caused him problems.
In his first PGA Tour start since last April, Woods mixed five birdies with six bogeys – including one at the last after he shanked his second shot into the trees, making the 15-time Major champion drop his club in frustration.
“My back spasmed on it,” he said of his eight-iron shot on the par-four 18th at Riviera Country Club.
“It had been spasming over the last three holes and it just locked up on me and didn’t move, didn’t rotate.”
Woods, who underwent spinal fusion surgery in 2017, recovered nicely on his next shot, splitting two trees with a punch hook to find the green.
“A lot of good and a lot of indifferent,” he said of his round on a sunny day in Pacific Palisades.
“It was one or the other. I don’t know how many pars I had, wasn’t many.
“I was either making birdies or bogeys and just never really got anything consistent going today.”
The 48-year-old, who withdrew before the third round of 2023’s Masters because of a foot injury, said that issue was no longer a problem.
He did admit, however, that his leg, badly injured in a car crash in 2021, was sore.
“It’s nothing that we weren’t prepared for and we’ve got some work to do tonight and tomorrow,” he said.
The Genesis Invitational, one of the PGA Tour’s eight signature events in 2024, features a halfway cut and US$20 million (S$26.9 million) purse, including US$4 million for the winner.
Woods, who has never won the event, is also serving as a tournament host this week.
American Patrick Cantlay topped the leaderboard after carding a 64.
Cantlay finished with more birdies (eight) than fairways in regulation (seven of 14) but recovered nicely and birdied three of the four par-three holes.
He sits just ahead of Luke List and Australians Cam Davis and Jason Day, who shot rounds of 65.
Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris and Tom Hoge are two off the pace at 66 as the PGA Tour began its third signature event of the 2024 season.
“Obviously got off to a great start,” Cantlay said. “Our group had good momentum, (Spieth) and I were a bunch under on the front nine and, you know, a day when I putted really, really well, made every putt I should have and a couple of longer ones.” REUTERS
