Woods hits a shank in his return to golf, hits 72
LOS ANGELES — Any chance of Tiger Woods breaking par in his first official PGA Tour event in 10 months ended with one swing Thursday and a five-letter word he wasn’t afraid to say.
Shank.
Woods said his back began to spasm over the final few holes in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He said that’s what led to his 8-iron from the middle of the 18th fairway that shot off at a 45-degree angle into the eucalyptus trees.
“Oh, definitely I shanked it,” Woods said. “My back was spasming the last couple holes and it was locking up. I came down and it didn’t move and I presented hosel first and shanked it.”
It was no less shocking for the 48-year-old Woods, even at this stage in his career when his back and legs have gone through more surgeries than he has won majors (15). Woods couldn’t recall the last time he hit a cold shank — basically hitting the ball anywhere except on the clubface — except for making some imaginative flop shots around the green.
At least he put it behind him quickly. His shank was behind some eucalyptus trees that frame the right side of the fairway. The shot called for the same club he had just shanked — 8-iron — for a low punch between the trees. And it came out beautifully to 15 feet.
“I had a small window there and tried to hit a punch-hook 8-iron after I just shanked an 8-iron,” he said. “I said, ‘All right, the next shot is 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.”
He still missed the putt and had to settle for a 1-over 72, leaving him eight shots behind Patrick Cantlay and needing to play better on Friday if he wants to stick around for the weekend and wear his new Sun Day Red apparel for golf and not just the trophy ceremony.
Woods, as the tournament host, was adamant about signature events having a 36-hole cut, and the PGA Tour agreed for the player-hosted events to have a cut to top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead.
He finished the round in a tie for 49th.
Woods managed five birdies on a pristine day at Riviera, with mostly sunshine and a strong breeze late in the afternoon. There also were plenty of mistakes, which he expected after not facing a field this large (70 players) since the Masters.
He was particularly fooled by the surprising speed of the greens on a course that had been soaked the previous two weeks by the heavy rain in Southern California.
“A lot of good and a lot of indifferent. It was one or the other,” Woods said. “I don’t know how many pars I had — wasn’t many (seven). I was either making birdies or bogeys and just never really got anything consistent going today.”