PACIFIC PALISADES (Calif.) – Whether Tiger Woods is selected for the Genesis Invitational, or not, the play of his two rounds at Riviera Country club after a seven month break is encouraging.
Tiger is 47 years old. Tiger is 47 years old and has had many surgeries on his back and knees. He can still outdrive Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, and can still hit shots that make actor Rob Lowe go “that’s sick.” And he can still convince you that he will climb the mountain again.
McIlroy stated, “He’s got enough speed and he hits it far, he does everything he needs,” “It’s just about making sure he can get around on the golf course. This is the most important thing. It covered all the necessary aspects of playing golf. You’ll be a little rusty if you haven’t played a competitive golf round in six-seventh month, whatever it may be.
Although we won’t know exactly what Tiger does to prepare for these rounds, Tiger smiled with joy after making his third consecutive birdie on Thursday to complete his round of 2-under-69. Thomas looked at the sky in amazement and shook his head. Trevor Immelman, CBS’s chief analyst, tweeted that Thomas had the same reaction as everyone else who has played with him for the past 30 years.
Friday’s 74 was mixed. Tiger’s Scotty Cameron Newport putter, which is well-known for its accuracy, was not working on the front nine. He missed birdie puts from 9 feet at No. He missed birdie putts from 9 feet at No.10, 4 feet at No.11, and 5 feet at 16. All of them were missed to the left. He cancelled out the bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13 were cancelled by bogeys at Nos. Will Haskett, PGA Tour Radio’s tweeter, noted that he has never done well on Riviera’s poa holes.
Tiger has been a 6 time participant in the Riviera ShotLink era…
SG: Putting = 0.54 [Did not have a negative season of putting in his career]
SG: Around The Green = -0.19
Riv is a constant irritant for him. Can he reverse this trend if he spends more time in his backyard?
— Will Haskett (@willhaskett) February 14, 2023
Irons, his strength, were in midseason form.
Tiger missed another birdie attempt from within 10 feet of No. He practiced his stroke for several more minutes between the first and second greens and then did a drill in which he dropped a ball at eye level. He hit his next three putts at 10, 5, and 10 feet, which may have been a trigger or just the law of averages. Unfortunately, they all fell short of par.
Woods stated that “I didn’t putt well today. I blocked a lot putts early, and this is probably my highest score today.” “Probably could have shot five to six more than this easily.”
This is a fair assessment. If he hadn’t dropped some putts, he could have been lurking on the fringes or trophy hunt. It’s hard to imagine what Tiger’s presence on the first page of leaderboards would have meant for the psyches of the leaders. But it wasn’t.
Certified flusher
@TigerWoods will be giving a clinic with his iron-play @TheGenesisInv. pic.twitter.com/zflHGRv8GS
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR February 17, 2023
Tiger’s bogey bogey finish was a problem and a discouragement that Woods observed on Thursday. Late in the round, he had a tendency not to get enough steam and the hitch in him’s step increased as the round progressed. It was complete limp by the time he had completed his media obligations.
He said, “Last year you seen it, I didn’t finish the rounds.”
“There’s going be,” he said, “ebbs, and flows.” At 8, he pulled a drive and was forced to make bogey. He missed fairway at nine, hitting only five shots for the day. This led to a mudball and then a fried eggs lie in the bunker’s front-greenside bunker.
Tiger looked much better when he played “actual” golf rounds, regardless of whether or not he makes the cut. He is finding a way to improve his swing.
“Before I could use the ground and push on and could be explosive. Tiger stated that I no longer have this ability so most of it is core strength and being careful as my back is fused. Yes, I can hit it harder but I have to be careful about how I do that. Technically, there are things that work. But if you try to step on the ball and use it as a ground, it doesn’t happen anymore. If I use my core to much and step on it, my back is not good. “I have to be careful about how I do that.”
Tiger has never played his best golf at Riviera, even in his prime. It’s a different story when Tiger rolls up to Augusta National in just 50 days. This is a positive step, and Tiger will be motivated for the Masters.
