From birdieing his first hole to bludgeoning his last, Tiger Woods made his debut of the 2024 PGA Tour season in the first round of the Genesis Invitational with a performance that left much to be desired. Woods ended Thursday tied for 49th at 1 over par, hitting eight of 14 fairways.
“[Today] was one of those days,” Woods said after the round. “Just never really got anything consistently going, and hopefully tomorrow I can clean it up.”
Filling his scorecard with seven pars, six bogeys and five birdies, Woods’ strokes were sporadic. Although his five birdies were over his 2022-23 season average at 3.7 birdies per round, it was not enough to save Woods from the hits of the six bogeys. Even still, his longest drive reached 332 yards despite his myriad of recent injuries. Woods struggled at the last hole, surprising everyone by shanking one far into the crowd and then missing the par putt.
“I have traditionally not putted well here. This is a fader’s delight — most of the holes, for a righty, run left to right,” Woods said before the tournament. “I’ve driven it well here. There are small greens, and traditionally throughout my entire career, my iron game has been pretty good, but I have never really gotten hot with the putter at this course.”
Unfortunately for Woods, his suspicions became reality as he struggled to sink a putt on a majority of the holes Thursday. Regardless, Woods had a significant mass of fans following him to every hole.
Despite playing in the invitational since 1992, Woods has never won it.
“A nice W would be nice, right?,” Woods said. “Hopefully, I can figure something out and get myself in there in contention and maybe get a W at the end of the week.”
As the host of the event held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, a win would be monumental for Woods. In last year’s appearance at the Genesis Invitational, Woods finished 45th with a score of 1 under par, similar to his performance today.
The opening round went just as strangely for the rest of the field, with players who have been doing well shooting a poor performance and vice versa. Top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler needed three putts on the 11th hole, causing him to hurl a ball into the bushes out of frustration.
Right behind him was No. 2-ranked Rory McIlroy, who made back-to-back sixes on the back nine, had a three-putt from 8 feet and finished at T-64 at 3 over par. Justin Thomas was forced to play a shot off the concrete boundary wall, which went right back into the rough; he shot a 1-over-par 72. On the other hand, Jason Day and Luke List both finished round one bogey-free.
The star of the first round was Patrick Cantlay, coming in with a 7-under-par 64. The Southern California native’s performance was one to watch, with a variety of shots that ranged from world class to woeful. Cantlay started off strong, shooting 8 under par through the 14th hole, but started to lose momentum when he hit multiple gallery members and got stuck behind a sycamore tree. This was not enough to lose the top spot, but if Cantlay wants to keep the lead, a change will have to be made.
“Our group had good momentum, Jordan [Spieth] and I were a bunch under on the front nine,” Cantlay said. “I putted really, really well, made every putt I should have and a couple longer ones. It was a good start.”
After Cantlay, the top five leaderboard currently consists of Cam Davis, Luke List and Jason Day tied for second at 6 under par, with Tom Hoge, Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris T-5 at 5 under par.
Max Homa, who won the event in 2021, came in T-60 at 2 over par. During last year’s tournament, Homa missed another win by just two strokes.
“It felt like I was really trying to do my best in front of my friends and family, although I know they don’t care,” Homa said Wednesday. “That’s why last year was hard, just because I felt like I was finally playing well. I had everybody out and didn’t quite finish it. So I’ve gotten kind of past the trying hard part.”
Defending champion Jon Rahm did not play due to his new contract with LIV Golf.
As the players prepare for the second round on Friday, the Genesis stands to be a tournament to watch, whether the PGA’s leaders start playing as such or not.