[PHOTO: Mike Ehrmann]
Tiger Woods will make his official PGA Tour return next week at the Genesis Invitational, the 15-time major champion announced on Twitter/X overnight.
After solid performances at the Hero World Challenge and the PNC Championship in December, it seemed a foregone conclusion Woods would return at Riviera for the Genesis, an event he hosts. But he did not make the official announcement until overnight on his social media accounts:
Excited to be a playing host next week @thegenesisinv pic.twitter.com/YvtJhe5DjB
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 7, 2024
Woods’ most recent official PGA Tour start came at the 2023 Masters, which he withdrew from after finishing his second round on a cold, rainy Saturday morning at Augusta National. Woods cited pain in his foot as the reason. Two weeks later, he underwent a subtalar fusion procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis from the talus fracture he sustained in his career-threatening car crash in 2021.
At the time, there was some speculation that the Masters could have been the last we’d see of Woods in PGA Tour competition. Then videos began to surface of Woods caddieing for his son, Charlie, and he appeared to be walking without the noticeable limp we saw at both Augusta National and at Riviera two months prior. He then walked all four rounds at the Hero World Challenge, where he finished 18th in a 20-man field, an both rounds of the PNC Championship, where he and Charlie tied for fifth out of 20 teams.
This will mark Woods 15th career start at Riviera, where he made his PGA Tour debut in 1992 as a 16-year-old amateur. Despite his local ties, and the fact Woods has won nearly everywhere he’s played in his career, he’s still yet to win at the iconic George C. Thomas design in the Pacific Palisades are of Los Angeles. He does have one runner-up finish and three top-10s, though.
Last year, also Woods made his latest return at Riviera, where he did make the cut and ultimately finished T-45.
