Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf this week, finishing his PGA Tour return with a 1-under total at the Genesis Invitational.
The 15-time major winner shot a two-over 73 on Sunday to complete his week. While he wasn’t in the hunt to win the tournament, finishing under par in his return to the links has to be seen as a huge accomplishment.
In fact, according to The Athletic’s Justin Ray, this was the first time Woods finished under par in a PGA Tour event since the 2020 Masters.
Tiger Woods finishes his week at 1-under.
It's his first time finishing an official 72-hole tournament under par since the 2020 Masters (826 days ago).
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) February 19, 2023
While Woods still has a ways to go if he wants to try and win another major, the sentiment around the golf world appeared to be that Tiger is on his way to getting there.
“Lots to nit pick for sure,” Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated wrote, “but the walking is better and the golf swing is excellent. We shall see if he can now build on this.”
Tiger played 72 holes for the first time since the Masters and finished under par. Lots to nit pick for sure. But the walking is better and the golf swing is excellent. We shall see if he can now build on this. #GenesisInvitational
— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) February 19, 2023
“Given his age and how beat up his body is and how little he has played, it was actually reasonably impressive that Tiger Woods played all four days and finished under par,” 93.7 The Fan’s Paul Zeise said. “I wasn’t sure he would ever do that again in a PGA event.”
Given his age and how beat up his body is and how little he has played, it was actually reasonably impressive that Tiger Woods played all four days and finished under par. I wasn’t sure he would ever do that again in a PGA event
— Paul Zeise (@PaulZeise) February 19, 2023
Woods said on Sunday that his goal is to compete in all four majors in 2023.
“I’m not going to play too much more than that,” Woods said. “My body, my leg, and my back just won’t allow me to play much more than that anymore.”
Tiger Woods after his first tournament in 2023 🎤 pic.twitter.com/IP6V2Mrj7b
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 19, 2023
