Tiger Woods has made the shock announcement that he will play The Genesis Invitational at Riviera in his first official PGA Tour start since his car crash in early 2021.
Woods has confirmed he will be teeing it up at The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.
It will mark his first tournament start since he was reduced to tears as he likely bid farewell to anymore Opens at St. Andrews last July.
‘I’m finally ready to play an ACTUAL PGA Tour event next week,” Woods, now 47, said in a statement confirming his appearance.
Woods actually serves as the tournament host. It has been given elevated status, meaning players will be competing for a $20m purse.
It is the latest comeback in an illustrious career which has seen him win 82 PGA Tour titles, 15 major championships and inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Woods revealed at the end of 2022 that it was the challenging yet “most rewarding” year of his career.
He returned to professional golf at the 86th Masters after crashing his luxury SUV in February 2021.
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According to the police report, Woods was driving at more than twice the speed limit when he crashed in the Los Angeles hills shortly after 7am on 23 February.
It was feared his career was over. Woods later revealed there was a 50 per cent chance his right leg was going to be amputated.
Woods played a total of three events in 2022. He missed the cut at the U.S. PGA Championship at Southern Hills before he appeared at the landmark major.
The big cat conceded that he did not know when he was going to play professional golf again after his appearance at the Home of Golf.
He decided to schedule an appearance at another PGA Tour event he hosts in Albany, Bahamas, in December but was forced to withdraw after developing plantar fasciitis.
The condition causes inflammation and pain in the heel.
Woods said of this:
“The plantar fasciitis is no fun, and now I get to truly recover and heal and progress forward on this because there’s so many good things that I’ve been able to do physically, to be able to hit the golf ball and practice and do everything in a standstill.
“But I haven’t been able to get from point A to point B, and obviously going to work on this.”
Woods ended his 2022 by competing in the father/son jaunt with Charlie Woods at the PNC Championship and a made-for-TV exhibition event alongside Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
McIlroy and Woods lost The Match.
The news that Woods will be playing at Riviera will be welcome news to golf fans, given that the 87th Masters is only a few months away.
Article originally appeared on: Golfmagic.com
I don’t have any heros in sports. That’s reserved for firemen and police who run into danger when everyone else is scrambling to get out of the way. That said, I do admire what he’s done in golf. He’s been a great person to watch over the years because of his daring style, his length and tenacity around the course. The problem wasn’t so much the crash, he’s been in bad shape ever since he tried to emulate his father and joined the Navy Seals for training. That messed up his knee. Phil Mickelson learn not to do crazy stuff that jeopardizes your career when he broke his leg in a skiing accident. Tiger needs to learn that this game is his bread and butter and if he ever wants to beat Jack Nicklaus’ records (almost impossible now) he has to be in great shape to do it. I think that time has passed Tiger. But he’s been a fun guy to watch all of these years. Thanks for setting the bar so high, Tiger. Wish you luck at Rivieara.