Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
PACIFIC PALISADES (CNS) - Tiger Woods shot a 1-over 72 Thursday in his first round in an official PGA Tour event since having his ankle fused, tying for 57th among 70 golfers in The Genesis Invitational at The Riviera Country Club.
Woods had five birdies and six bogeys on the Pacific Palisades course, birdieing the first, fourth, sixth, 11th and 14th holes and bogeying the second, third, 10th, 12th, 15th and 18th holes.
Former UCLA standout Patrick Cantlay shot a 7-under 64 to take a one- stroke lead over fellow American Luke List and Australian Cam Davis. Americans Tom Hoge, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris and Australian Jason Day are tied for fourth at 5-under, two stokes off the lead.
Pre-tournament favorite Scottie Scheffler, the world's top-ranked men's golfer, was at 4-under through 11 holes, tying Canadian Adam Svensson and South Korean Byeong Hun An, who had both completed their rounds, for eighth.
Woods underwent what a statement released on his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, as a "subtalar fusion procedure to address his post- traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture," on April 19.
The surgery was the latest in the series of operations Woods has undergone since suffering multiple fractures to his right leg and ankle when the SUV he was driving rolled over on a downhill slope of northbound Hawthorne Boulevard in Rancho Palos Verdes on Feb. 23, 2021, two days after the conclusion of that year's Genesis Invitational.
It came 12 days after Woods withdrew from the Masters, his most recent PGA Tour event, in the midst of the third round because of plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the tissue that runs across the bottom of the foot and connects the heel bone to the toes.
"My ankle doesn't hurt anymore because no bones are rubbing anymore," Woods said at a news conference Wednesday. "But then again, it's different. Other parts of my body have to take the brunt of it.
"Just like my back is fused so other of my body have taken the brunt of that. I have two different body parts that are now fused. Other parts of the body have to adapt."
Woods played in two non-PGA Tour events since the surgery, finishing 18th in a field of 20 in the Hero World Challenge Nov. 30-Dec. 3 and teaming with his then 14-year-old son Charlie to tie for fifth in the parent-and-child PNC Championship Dec. 16-17.
The Genesis Invitational is the 48-year-old Woods' sixth PGA Tour event since the crash. He has only been able to play all 72 holes twice, finishing 47th in the 2022 Masters, 23 strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler, and tying for 45th in last year's Genesis Invitational, 16 strokes behind winner Jon Rahm.
This is the 16th time Woods has played in what is now The Genesis Invitational, including missing the cut as a 16-year-old amateur in his first appearance in 1992. The 15 starts are his most in a PGA Tour event without a victory. The closest he came to winning was in 1998, when he lost in a playoff to Billy Mayfair. The next year he was among three golfers tied for second, two strokes behind Ernie Els.
"I have traditionally not putted well here," Woods said Wednesday. "This is a fader's delight, most of the holes are, for a righty, run left to right. I've driven it well here. There are small greens and traditionally throughout my entire career my iron game has been pretty good, but I have never really gotten hot with the putter at this course.
"Generally they're bumpy poa, so it's been a little bit tricky. For some reason it just has never compiled to a hot week."
Poa is the type of grass on the greens at Riviera.
When asked Wednesday "from a golf perspective what would make this week a success" Woods replied, "A nice W would be nice, right? Hopefully I can figure something out and get myself in there in contention and maybe get a W at the end of the week."
The odds of a Woods victory were 125-1 entering Thursday's play and rose to 750-1 following conclusion of his round, according to BetMGM, a official betting operator of the PGA Tour. Woods has not won a tournament since the 2019 Zozo Championship, his 82nd victory on the PGA Tour, tying Sam Snead for the most in history. His last top 10 finish was tying for ninth in the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open.
Scheffler was the pre-tournament favorite at 13-2 with Rory McIlroy the second choice at 10-1. Scheffler is first in the Official World Golf Ranking while McIlroy is second.
McIllroy was at 3-under through 10 holes, tying sixth other golfers for 11th.
Woods, who is also the tournament's host, played in a threesome with Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland.
Woods described Thomas and Woodland as "great friends" of his.
"We're going to have a great time," Woods said before the round. "Obviously we're going to be needling each other, but it's a great needling."
Woodland, like Woods, is playing on a sponsor's exemption. The 2019 U.S. Open champion will be making his fourth PGA Tour start since announcing on Aug. 30 he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He underwent lengthy brain surgery on Sept. 18.
"I think we haven't had enough conversation about what he's gone through and how difficult life was for Gary and how scary that each and every moment," Woods said. "He's afraid of dying, and the anxiety of that and to have a surgery and remove a tumor out of his brain and to come back and play the tour, that's an unbelievable story. I think that we should applaud him for what he's been able to overcome."
Woodland has missed the cut in each of his three starts since the brain surgery.
Woodland shot a 1-under 70 Thursday, tying 14 other golfers for 31st, six strokes off the lead. Thomas, like Woods, shot a 1-over 72, tying for 57th, eight strokes off the lead.
The $20 million Genesis Invitational is among the PGA Tour's Signature Events, limited field events featuring top players with increased prize money and FedEx Cup points. (Those tournaments were referred to as "designated events" in 2023.)
The three player-hosted Signature Events -- The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament -- will have a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties plus any player within 10 shots of the lead, with the winner receiving 20% of the prize money, $4 million, up from 18% last year.
The other five Signature Events will have no cut and will continue to allocate 18% to the winner.
The field of 70 includes nine of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, missing only the third-ranked Rahm, who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.