LOS ANGELES — This is his first official PGA Tour event after more than seven years. Tiger WoodsIn the final round of Sundays Genesis Invitational, it seemed like they had run out of gas.
Woods looked tired and slow after electrifying the Riviera Country Club fans with his 3-under 67 in round three. He birdied the first hole, and two more on the back nine, but he also had five bogeys. He finished at 1 over with a round of 2-over 73. He was tied for 45th after he walked out of the 18th hole.
Woods, dressed in a traditional red shirt and acknowledging fans, raised his putter before walking up the stairs towards the scoring tent.
Woods, 47, was playing his first official PGA Tour event after missing the cut at the 150th Open Championship in St. Andrews in July. It was his first 72-hole round since Aprils Masters when he finished 47th.
After regularly blasting his tee shots past his playing partners Rory McIlroyAnd Justin ThomasWoods was unable to hit as far in the second and third rounds, and he didnt have nearly the same power or club speed on Sunday. Woods averaged 302.1 yards from the tee in the first three rounds. This was among the top 15 players in the field. He averaged 285.3 yards and hit eight fairways.
Woods performance, despite a disappointing finish, was a significant step forward for the 15 time major champion. After playing 72 holes of competition in four days, Woods surgically repaired right leg and ankle seemed to be fine despite the stress. He played 88 holes this week, and he walked 18 in Wednesday’s pro-am.
Woods said Saturday that he wasnt certain if golf fans would be able to see him play again before the Masters. The Masters is the first major championship of the year and will take place at Augusta National Golf Club, April 6-9. Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational eight times. It will be played in just two weeks. The Players, the tour’s most prestigious event with a purse of $25 million, will be played the week after.
Woods refused to answer questions about his future plans Saturday. He said he would play again at the Masters.
Woods stated, Well go ahead to reassess all and see where are we at, and see how I recover after a full tournament. I haven’t done this in a while. Its been a while since I did it at the Open Championship. Hopefully, my body will still feel great by next week. Recovery time will be fun, as it is right now.
Woods looked stiff and sluggish after his first nine holes. Woods made a 14-foot putt on the first hole to score a birdie. He hit an 11-footer in order to climb out of a greenside bunker, and save par on his third.
Woods had bogeyed on three of the five front nine holes. Par was not possible on No. 5, as he missed a 5-footer. 5. He drove his teeshot into a fairway bunker, and then chunked a pitch shot onto No. 8. Woods then drove his ball in another fairway bunker, and couldn’t recover on No. 9. He was able to score a 2-over 37 in the front.
Woods finally got a stroke after making another bogey at the par-4 12th. He drained a 30-footer from a fringe on the par-4 13. He triple-putted on the 15th to make another bogey. Woods was 6-foot tall and made his third birdie for the round on the par-3 16th.