Tiger Woods Blasts Himself For ‘Stressful’ PGA Tour Return; Makes 7-Word Promise Ahead of Day Two

There were some good takeaways from the first round at the Genesis Invitational. The problem, however, was consistency. At least Tiger Woods feels so. The Hall of Famer was speaking at the press conference after tying for 49th after the first round of the tournament he hosts. “Lot of good. (A) lot of indifferent,” Woods said when asked to review his first round.

Woods saved par seven times, although he didn’t keep count. In addition, he also carded six bogeys and five birdies. Admitting that it was sort of a roller-coaster ride, the 15-time Major winner added, “It was one or the other. I don’t know how many pars I had, wasn’t many. I was either making birdies or bogeys and just never really got anything consistent going today. It was one of those days, just never really got anything consistently going.“

Making matters worse, the speed of the greens caught him off-guard. Woods was expecting the greens to be a little slower considering the downpour it received. “I couldn’t believe how fast they were today even though I made a couple. I ran a bunch by the hole today; it was very stressful,” the veteran golfer added. Tiger Woods ranked 54th on Strokes Gained: Approach to the Green and 50th in SG: Around the Green.

Woods, though, remains confident he can bounce back stronger in the second round. The tournament host added, “Hopefully tomorrow I can clean it up.” A glimpse of that was already visible following his shank on the 18th. “I said, all right, the next shot’s supposed to be the harder shot and yes, it was because I’m having to hit a little punch hook through a little gap there and I pulled it off, which is good.”

Thanks to that shank on the par 4 18th, Woods failed to break par in the first round of the Genesis Invitational. The Hall of Famer carded 1-over 72, eventually. The former World No. 1 also spoke about his back problems, admitting his game is still rusty.

Tiger Woods is still trying to adapt to the changed reality

A near-fatal car crash in 2021 left its residue in the form of ankle injuries. And age has compounded the problem created by injuries. Asked about how he feels after playing in the first round, Woods said, “Leg’s a little bit sore, things are a little bit sore, but that’s to be expected.” The 48-year-old said, “We’ve got some work to do tonight and tomorrow.” Specifically on his short game.

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Woods admitted he putts by “memory and by feel,” and staying away from the greens for so long has affected his game. On-the-fly adjustments have not yielded the desired result. Interestingly, Woods also accepted that he has not putted well here before as well. Riviera, despite being the venue of his PGA Tour debut, has returned Tiger Woods empty-handed so far.

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