Tiger Woods Score: Return to Final Success at the 2023 Genesis Invitational with a score of 2 of 73 on Sunday
Tiger Woods lacked in the finish on Sunday at the Genesis Invitational in his first PGA Tour game to start since late 2020. Woods closed his week 2 out of 73 to end his tournament. with a score of 1 under 1 and won a position in the top 50 of the rankings. His 73 was the seventh-worst final score in the field by the time he finished.
However, not all is bad for Woods. In fact, just getting through four rounds of golf is already considered a win to some extent for someone who has only done it once throughout 2022.
“It’s progress, in the right direction,” Woods said. “It was definitely a little more difficult than I could have allowed. My team has been fantastic at helping my body recover on a daily basis and getting me ready to compete every day.
“That’s the hard part that I can’t simulate at home. Even when I play four days at home, it’s not like adrenaline, it’s not like such a boosted system – intensity, just concentration. that’s necessary to play at this level. No matter how much — I’m good at simulating that at home, but it’s not the same thing as going out here and doing it.”
Tiger certainly has his moments too. Three birdies ended Thursday against Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy. Score 67 on Saturday in Round 3, better than most of the top players in the world. It was moments of unexpected joy, both for him and for the thousands of people who came to watch him play at the Riviera Country Club (not to mention those watching on TV). They are a flashback to years ago and a time when they wouldn’t surprise as much.
Woods hasn’t done anything special all week, although his iron play and swing speed are both better than expected after a long hiatus (it’s been seven months since he trained in the summer). a competitive golf tournament). He finished the top 30 on the court in approach play and consistently hit a 175-180 ball speed when his hitter wasn’t teeing off (the PGA Tour average is a low 170).
More important is his absolute presence. Woods in the field has given Genesis more prestige than has been implied by its status as one of the PGA Tour’s enhanced events. It makes Thursdays like Sundays, and it makes the limit line seem even more important than usual since Woods joined.
Presence is the most important thing Woods has to offer at this point for a number of reasons. While it’s surprisingly impressive that he can walk and play all four rounds with seemingly no major problems, he’s still barely able to do the practice needed to play. at a steady level leading to real competition. Will his health improve and can he play for hours? And the walk he wants or the extra tournaments he needs to stay sharp remains to be seen, although Woods himself has repeatedly said that’s not possible. That presents a problem when it comes to his ability to win.
“I’m good at emulating that at home,” he said, “but it’s not the same thing as being out here and doing it.”
And so what we’re left with right now, and possibly for the foreseeable future, is: various glimpses of the historic greats he’s been with over the past 25 years. make you believe that something irrational can happen. We got that on Thursday, and then we got it back on Saturday. Those will also be combined with a future version of the Tiger that literally doesn’t have any changes to the tank. Up and down. Down and up
He will be a man who constantly tries to reconcile the logistics of his body with the desires of his heart. Someone intellectually knows that what he has will never really come back because his body and mind have grown tired of the chase, but his identity is knit. so intermingled with his competitive nature that he didn’t even know what else he would do.
It might not be the best version of Tiger, but to me, it’s probably the most enjoyable.
Tiger didn’t reject the idea that maybe he could tee off again before Masters 2023, which he will probably play, although he did repeat one thing he is adamant about: he cannot play more than five or six times in a year..
“Here’s the deal: As I told you guys last year, I’m not going to play more than the majors and maybe a few more,” he said. “So that’s it, that’s all my body allows me to do. My back is like that, all the surgeries I’ve had on my back, my legs are still the same, I can’t. That would be. is my future.
“So my intention last year was to play in all four majors, I won three out of four majors. Hopefully this year I can win all four and maybe spread some more here. and stay there. But that’s for the rest of my career. I know it and I understand it. It’s just my reality.”
If this week’s successful 2023 debut is any indication, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him play Bay Hill in two weeks or the Players Championship in three weeks. Whether that’s prepared enough to have an actual shot at Augusta remains to be seen, but it’s a far cry from where we thought he would be as recently as three weeks ago.
