A ‘hit’, back discomfort and a +1 Tiger Woods suffered on his return

Any possibility that Tiger Woods under par in his first official PGA Tour event in 10 months ended Thursday with one swing and a five-letter word he’s not afraid to say: ‘Shank’. The former world number 1 It is said that his back began to crack in the last holes of Genesis Invitational at Riviera CC. And he made sure that caused his ball to hit an 8 iron from the middle of the fairway on the 18th hole to shoot at a 45-degree angle in the direction of some eucalyptus trees.

Tiger did a real blow. From the trees, however, and in a fair opening between two big bicentennial trees, he managed to make a good bogey, the sixth of the day (for five birdies), putting even save par from at about four and a half meters.

“Yeah, the shank definitely hit me.”. I’ve noticed some spasms on the last two holes and I haven’t been able to move well… Just finished that with the 8 iron, with the ball out of position, I saw a small window between the trees and I wanted to hit . the 8 iron again, a ‘punch hook’… So I thought that would be the hardest shot. But it went well,” Woods explained after finishing the round with 72 strokes (+1), 8 behind leader Patrick Cantlay.

“My back is locked,” said Tiger, 48 years old. At this point in his career, his back, legs and ankles have undergone more operations than the Californian’s majors (15). Woods can’t remember the last time he hit a shot this badly – hitting the ball anywhere but the clubface – except when he was practicing some fancy flops around the green.

Woods made five birdies on a flawless day on the Riviera, with sunshine and an afternoon breeze. He also made a lot of mistakes, something he expected after not facing such a large field (70 players) since the Masters, and he was especially surprised by the speed of the greens on a course that had been soaked by heavy rain the past two weeks. in southern California.

“Making adjustments on the fly, feeling a lap and how to make those adjustments is something I haven’t done in a long time,” Tiger said. He drew the biggest crowd, however, with spectators crowding the clubhouse balcony to watch his opening tee shot and lining the entire side of the first fairway, a par 5 where Woods made birdie with a pitch and putt. . from the right 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 mentioned back spasms. He said he suffers from them at home, but not during the competition. “As for the physical ups and downs, that’s just part of my body. Nothing happens. I accept and accept the challenges,” he concluded.

The leader is Patrick Cantlay (-7)who gave a performance of solidity, but mainly on the greens, sinking four birdie putts and a par putt from beyond three meters.

Good start too Cam Davis (-6), Luke List (-6), Jason Day (-6), Jordan Spieth (-5) and Will Zalatoris (-5) who was six under par for the first nine holes, but eventually continued to show signs of complete rehabilitation.

World no. 1 Scottie Scheffler he signed 68 strokes (-3) while #2 Rory McIlroy He finished worse than Tiger Woods, with 74 strokes (+3).