Tiger Woods shank leaves fans in disbelief as PGA Tour comeback round ends badly
Tiger Woods shanked a shot on the 18th hole at The Genesis Invitational, claiming his back had seized up on him which caused the shot to go into the trees among specatators
Tiger Woods showed that he is not so different from a regular golfer. On the 18th hole in the opening round of The Genesis Invitational in Pacific Palisades, California, the 48-year-old started the final hole in good form.
But on his next attempt, Woods drove the ball 71 yards and flew wide into the trees among some spectators. All the golf legend could do was put down the club in disbelief and sit still for a few seconds, taking in what was new. After regaining his composure, Woods teed off and hit his third shot 15 yards from the fairway for a two-putt bogey. In the first round, Woods tied for 53rd with Justin Thomas and tied for 8th with leader Patrick Cantlay with a 1-over par 72. After the round, Woods explained to reporters what happened during his errant swing. “The last few holes, my back straightened out,” Legend said of his putt. “And he stopped her. So I went down and it didn’t move. I first introduced Hosel and gave him a present.
When asked how long it had been since he last hit a ball, Woods admitted it had been “a long time” since he last hit a ball properly. “Long time no see.” He said. “Not from where I’m sitting, except when I’m trying to flop and hit some weird shots around the green.”
Woods’ last major tournament was last year’s Masters, so the rust and minor injuries are expected to be temporary. He left the tournament in the third round, underwent ankle surgery and was sidelined until December. He participated in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and placed 18th ahead of Wyndham Clark and Will Zalatoris. Woods then competed in the PNC Championship with his son Charlie, tied for fifth in the tournament. Despite playing sporadically over the past year, Woods has informed his teammates that he is seeking his 83rd PGA Tour title at Riviera and, essentially, severing ties with Sam Snead. Despite living in the Los Angeles area, Woods had never won at the Riviera and wanted to win again this year. “It would be nice [to win], right? Woods said this before the event. “I’ve never won this race. I have been competing in this event since 1992 and in all the years I have been playing I have never won this event. “Hopefully I can figure something out so I can join the fray and get a W this weekend.”
The ambitious Woods said the ankle surgery wasn’t a problem and he just had to learn to adapt to his current condition. “Yeah, my ankle doesn’t hurt anymore because there’s no more friction between the bones,” Woods said before the tournament. “But yes, this is different. Other parts of my body must be hurting too. My back feels tight and other parts of my body ache. Now I have two different body parts fused together. This is correct. And other parts of the body have to adapt.”
When you consider how much his body has changed and how he’s had to adapt to his style of play, it becomes clear why he hits the way he does. But if Woods wants to win the Genesis for the first time, he’s going to have to play some great golf to get there.
