Tiger Woods Illustrates His Special History With Riviera Ahead of Highly Anticipated Return: ‘I Worked My Butt Off’

The golf world has been waiting for Tiger Woods to return to the PGA Tour for nearly two years now. But with the golf legend’s return announcement this week, the wait only grows shorter by the minute. The 15-time major championship winner will be making his way back onto the Tour next week. He is all set to compete at the Genesis Invitational at the iconic Riviera Country Club. But what many fans don’t know is that Woods has a history with the course. And he recently revealed how deep it really went.

Tiger Woods opens up about his golf history at Riviera

The 82-time PGA Tour winner’s return to the Tour has been all the hype in the golf world recently. In honor of his comeback, the Genesis Invitational recently even tweeted a video of Woods opening up about his past and spilling the beans on his history at the iconic course. “My roots are here,” said the golf pro talking about Southern California.

The golf legend first stepped on the course at Riviera when he was only 17 years old. He had been invited to play on the PGA Tour as an exemption. “I was in high school,” he said. “It was like going from playing JB baseball to all of a sudden facing Nolan Ryan.” Despite his young age the golf champion was excited and thrilled to be there.

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Even though he didn’t make the cut, Woods claimed that he played “well” that week. With a score of 72 in his first round and 75 in his second, he thought he could’ve played maybe “4 shots better.” Overall, the experience had blown him away. From seeing the pros that he admired playing at the event to hearing the air crack with the sound of the perfect swing, he was certainly awestruck.

Woods found humility at his first Tour stop at the Riviera

Not making the cut or even coming close to winning at his first ever Tour event had taught the golf legend an important lesson in humility. “It was quite humbling,” he stated. “Having that exemption at that age allowed me to understand how far I had to go, how much I had to work.”

The 15-time major victor had, back then, understood the dedication and the “perseverance” it took to make it to the top. And so, he began his journey to do just that and be great. “I persevered; I worked my butt off,” he explained, recalling his efforts.

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What do you think of the 47-year-old’s history with the Riviera? Will it inspire him to win there when he returns next weekend? Let us know in the comments below.