Woods brings back big crowds, big cheers with a 72
Tiger Woods has been away from the PGA Tour too long to know for certain when a shot is as good as it looks.
This was a 6-iron on the par-3 16th hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines, from 188 yards to a slightly elevated green with a pin tucked behind a deep bunker. The sun was setting behind the Pacific late Thursday afternoon, and the glare made it tough to follow the flight of the ball.
“We can’t see anything land from back there, so we’re just listening for some noise,” Woods said. “And people started cheering.”
The ball rolled to the hole and broke a few inches in front of the cup for a tap-in birdie .
Woods brought big crowds back to golf in his latest return to the PGA Tour, and he even pro- duced a few big roars.
There just weren’t enough cheers for his liking.
Playing for the first time since recovering from a fourth back surgery that cost him another year on the PGA Tour, Woods was mostly steady, sometimes spectacular and ended his day with an evenpar 72 that left him seven shots behind Tony Finau.
“It was fun to compete again,” Woods said. “It was fun to be out there.”
The next trick is to stay at Torrey Pines beyond Friday. With virtually no wind making this a day for reasonable scoring, Woods was tied for 84th and will start the second round on the North Course just outside the cut line.
Finau birdied his opening two holes on the North and finished with a 35-foot birdie putt for a 65.
Woods had a few big moments that looked familiar to fans who stood as many as four-deep around the greens.