Tiger Woods is back. The 15-time major winner announced on Friday that he will play the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club next week. It will be his first PGA Tour start since the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews.
This is a bit of a surprise in Woods’ schedule, although not a complete aberration. Woods said at the end of 2022 that he was aiming to play a few tournaments in addition to the major championships, and the one his foundation hosts, certainly makes sense.
“The goal is to play just the major championships and maybe one or two more,” Woods said at the Hero World Challenge (which his foundation also hosts). “That’s it. I mean, that’s physically that’s all I can do. I told you that, guys, you know, the beginning of this year, too. I don’t have much left in this leg, so gear up for the biggest ones and hopefully, you know, lightning catches in a bottle and I’m up there in contention with a chance to win and hopefully I remember how to do that.
“But again, giving myself a chance to get out there again. I didn’t expect to play three majors this year. We were hoping for just the British Open, but I was able to get two more in there, so that was a big positive.”
Woods had to withdraw from the Hero World Challenge at the beginning of December with plantar fasciitis, but he apparently recovered in time for the third designated PGA Tour event of the year.
“No, not yet,” Woods said at the PNC Championship in December when he was asked if he could predict what his 2023 schedule could look like. “Because if I didn’t have the plantar feeling like this, then yes, I could tell you that and I’d have a better idea. But I’m supposed to be resting this thing and stretching and letting it heal. But I’m not doing that at the moment.”
Woods last played the Genesis in 2020 when he shot 69-73-76-77 and finished 68th in the field. A few days after the 2021 Genesis, which he did not play, Woods got into a near-fatal car accident in Los Angeles, which has led to several injuries to his leg he has been struggling with for the last few years.
