Tiger Tracker: Woods Impresses In First Round Back

02/17/2023

By: Jeff Yoder

Tiger Woods Finishes Strong, Cards a 2-Under After First Round at Genesis Invitational

Max Homa and Keith Mitchell are tied for the lead after both shooting a stellar 64 (-7) through the first round at Riviera. But all the talk after the first day of the tournament was about Tiger Woods. After a rough stretch through holes 10-12 that saw two bogeys, Tiger turned back the clock with three straight impressive birdies to close out his first round at a respectable 69. This was about as good as anyone could have possibly expected from Woods as it was his first taste of professional golf in over seven months. The question heading into today is whether or not he can do it again. At 47 years old and a lengthy injury history, maintaining this level of play honestly seems unlikely for Tiger, but we sure hope we’re wrong.

 

Leaderboard (Round 1)

M. Homa (-7)
K. Mitchell (-7)
J. Rahm (-6)
M. Kuchar (-5)
C. Morikawa (-5)
H. English (-5)
T. Hoge (-4)
A. Svensson (-4)

Other Notable Scorecards: R. McIlroy (-4), J Thomas (-3), W. Zalatoris (-2), T. Woods (-2), T. Finau (+1), J. Speith (+3)

 

Watch: Tiger Woods Round 1 Highlights 

 

Round 2 Tee Times (Featured Groups)

10:13 AM: S. Kim, M. Fitzpatrick, N. Taylor

10:24 AM: R. McIlroy, J. Thomas, T. Woods

10:35 AM: S. Scheffler, J. Spieth, C. Morikawa

10:46 AM: J. Rose, H. Matsuyama, S. Lowry

3:04 PM: J. Rahm, P. Cantlay, V. Hovland

3:15 PM: T. Finau, B. Horschel, A. Scott

3:26 PM: M. Homa, T. Kim, X. Schauffele

3:37 PM: J. Poston, R. Fowler, M. Kuchar

All Round 2 Tee Times (Eastern)

 

Additional Storylines

ESPN: Tiger Woods Shoots 69 at Genesis Invitational, Trails by 5 shots

Golf Digest: Max Homa Delivered Yet Another Unlikely Moment at Riviera’s Iconic 10th Hole

 

Poll Results: In yesterday’s edition, we asked if you thought Tiger Woods would make the cut this weekend. It was close, but 56% of readers said no — Tiger will miss the cut. However, he’s currently on pace to do so as he is sitting in 27th place after the first round.

 

Photo: Ben Jared / Getty Images