Tiger Woods’s return to action on the PGA Tour was a short one this week at the Genesis Invitational. Woods withdrew from the tournament during the second round on Friday in Pacific Palisades, California, citing illness, according to a PGA Tour rules official.
Woods, 48, played six holes before calling it a day and taking a cart ride back to the clubhouse. After hitting his tee shot at the seventh hole, television cameras showed him with head in his hands as a Tour rules official drove him away after leaving Gary Woodland and Justin Thomas, his playing competitors for the first two rounds. He had made a birdie and two bogeys and just holed a putt at the sixth green to save par but was in danger of missing the 36-hole cut.
This week’s tournament, where he also serves as the tournament host, marked the first official Tour start for Woods since the Masters last April. He underwent surgery to fuse his right ankle later that month and missed the remaining majors. He played in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and the PNC Championship, a two-man team event with son Charlie in December.
Tiger Woods is a WD during the second round of The Genesis Invitational due to illness.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) February 16, 2024
MORE: Reactions to Tiger Woods withdrawing from Genesis
Woods opened with a 1-over 72 on Thursday. The 15-time major champion cited back spasms as the reason for shanking his second shot at 18 on Thursday and noted that he had been dealing with them at home at times. He said they were due to having his back fused.
Woods’s return drew enormous crowds from fans who wanted to see the 82-time Tour winner make his latest comeback attempt after surgery. Three years ago, Woods was involved in a single-car crash south of Los Angeles one day after the Genesis Invitational that severely injured his lower right leg, ankle and foot.
“Do I feel it physically? Yeah, I do. Do I feel it physically? Absolutely, each and every day. Unfortunately that’s part of having surgeries and rehab,” Woods said on Tuesday. “But I’m excited about this week and I’m excited about competing and playing.”
Speaking before the tournament commenced, Max Homa, the 2021 Genesis Invitational champion, summed up why the players were pleased to have Woods competing again.
“Every event’s better when Tiger is here,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing what he brings to an event with his presence on the golf course. Obviously it’s great that he’s had his name attached to this, but you want to see him play, all the fans want to see him play.”
This marked the 13th time in his career that Woods has withdrawn from a Tour event. He made his Tour debut at Riviera as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992.