Fans have been busy. With one hand, 먹튀검증he filmed a video with his smartphone and with the other hand, he clenched his fist and cheered for the ‘golf emperor’ who returned.
Tiger Woods (48, USA), who returned after 7 months since the Open in July of last year, made a birdie in the last 3 holes and smiled widely. The distance was often longer than Rory McIlroy, the representative long hitter. Although he still looked uncomfortable walking due to the leg injury and made mistakes in the short game and putts in the middle, the more holes he played, the more he showed his performance that matched Woods’ words, “I came out to win.” Before the game, he said, “There was a lot of rust, but the rust was removed.”
On the 17th at Riviera Country Club (par 71) in Pacific Palisades near Los Angeles, California, USA, the first round of the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational. Sponsored by Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company and hosted and operated by the Tiger Woods Foundation, the tournament received explosive attention from fans and media as Woods participated as a player as well as a host. Even though the game was held on a Thursday local time, a large crowd gathered.
Woods started playing in the first hole (par 5) with Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) and Justin Thomas (USA), who were close friends.
When Woods hit the fairway, he sent more balls than McIlroy and Thomas. He also threw for 338 yards on the 15th hole. Woods got off to a fresh start with a birdie on the first hole (par 5). Although his tee shot went off the fairway, he hit the third approach shot 1m from the hole and started with a lightly under par score.
Woods tried to see his tee shot into the left rough at hole 4 (par 3), but added a birdie again after hitting a 322-yard driver shot at hole 8 (par 4). Woods dropped to an over par, writing down bogeys in holes 10 (par 4) and 12 (par 4), where the accuracy of the tee shot was poor and the approach shot was shaken. Riviera Country Club is a course with a lot of uphill and downhill, so Woods sometimes moved with a driver. Until the middle and the second half, his face was stiff as if the game was not going well. However, Woods’ iron shot, which is said to be the best ever, changed the tide. He caught a birdie in the 16th hole (par 3) with a 6-iron tee shot 1.5m away from the hole. In the 17th hole (par 5), he made a fairly long birdie putt and again made an under par score. And in the 18th hole (par 4), the tee shot, the second iron shot, and the putt were not tight enough to remind him of his prime. Following the longest tee shot of the three, he put a second shot with a 9-iron near the hole and connected it with a birdie. Confidence radiated from Woods’ expression as he took off his hat to answer the cheers of the fans after making three consecutive birdies.
Woods, who recorded 2 under par with 5 birdies and 3 bogeys, tied for 27th place. McIlroy, who played together, was tied for 7th (4 under par), and Thomas was tied for 14th (3 under par). Max Homa (USA), the winner of this tournament in 2021, and Keith Mitchell (USA), who showed a new short game, tied for the lead (7 under par), and Yon Ram (Spain) was third (6 under par).
Lim Seong-jae started with a tie for 27th place (2 under par) alongside Woods.