PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA | Midway through his pro-am round Wednesday at the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods settled into a golf cart seat and took advantage of one of the perks offered by the tournament that he hosts.
In-N-Out Burger had a trailer stationed near Riviera Country Club’s ninth tee, and Woods didn’t shy away from the double-double cheeseburger and fries being offered to player and caddies.
When he finished his lunch, Woods sauntered over to the ninth tee, hammered another tee shot into the distance and then rejoined playing partners Aaron Hicks of baseball’s Los Angeles Angels and Josh Allen of football’s Buffalo Bills, both of whom could hold their own in a PGA Tour long-drive competition.
For much of the first three days of this week, Woods wore the hat (with his new logo) of tournament host, fitting practice time in to be as ready as possible for his return to competition Thursday near his boyhood home in suburban Los Angeles. It will be his first official tour start since the Masters last year.
Here’s how the tournament host filled some of his time:
• He debuted his new apparel line – Sun Day Red – at a Monday night media event, stepping into his post-Nike life (while revealing that the familiar interlocking “TW” logo is gone for good);
• Woods played nine holes Tuesday morning, then adjourned for not one but two sponsor-related lunches;
• He hosted a breakfast Wednesday morning before his 8:30 a.m. tee time, and there were post-round duties as well;
When someone suggested it was better than sitting on another Zoom call doing tour business, Woods said, “I’ve got one of them, too.”
Woods has seemed joyful in his preparation, the satisfaction of returning to an official PGA Tour event for the first time in 10 months evident in his body language and the smile that flashed often during his time on the course with Allen and Hicks (who is married to Woods’ niece Cheyenne Woods).
In a career speckled by comebacks, this moment feels different because the pre-tournament questions center on two primary subjects: the state of his game rather than the state of his surgery-scarred body and his thoughts on where the PGA Tour goes from here in terms of its negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
During a 23-minute press conference Wednesday afternoon, Woods did not go deep on either subject. The state of his game will speak for itself over the coming days and, in his role as a tour Policy Board member involved in the negotiations, he offered no specifics and little insight into what may or may not happen with the PIF.
The limp created by the devastating injuries to his right leg as a result of the auto accident Woods was involved in near here three years ago is still there but less noticeable.
Woods always has drawn eyes on the golf course, and it’s no different this week. Though no spectators were allowed at Riviera on Tuesday or Wednesday, he was easy to find by the number of people who found their way to where he was.
The limp created by the devastating injuries to his right leg as a result of the auto accident Woods was involved in near here three years ago is still there but less noticeable. With his right ankle now fused, Woods said the pain is gone but his stride is forever altered.
His swing doesn’t have the ferocity it did two decades ago, but the 48-year-old still has plenty of power, created largely by his upper-body rotation. Working his way around Riviera in the pro-am, Woods looked comfortable with his swing, hitting a number of high cuts on demand, ideal for a course that he calls “a fader’s delight.”
The question may be how Woods’ short game and putting responds under tournament conditions. He didn’t grind around the greens in his practice sessions and confessed that his inability to win at Riviera in a career that includes 82 PGA Tour victories is largely due to his struggles on the Poa annua greens that he has yet to fully figure out.
“How the body feels from day to day and the grind of trying to practice and get ready for an event, just the overall just aging process of it all, that has been the trick of it and been the challenge of it,” Woods said of his prep work.
Woods’ media session Wednesday was his first since the tour announced its multibillion-dollar agreement with the Strategic Sports Group, a private-equity investment that initially will provide more than $900 million to players who have been a part of and remain loyal to the PGA Tour.
It is an enormous step for the PGA Tour, creating a for-profit enterprise separate from the tax-exempt tour and giving players a piece of ownership in their own business. The consortium of team owners across the professional sports landscape helped convince Woods on the merits of the alliance.
“They’re unbelievable leaders,” Woods said. “At the time that we need great leadership going forward, I think this elicits that. It has amazing – the amazing brains of ideas that can make this tour better, and we’re looking forward to that.”
“Ultimately we would like to have PIF be a part of our tour and a part of our product.” – Tiger Woods
The next question is whether and when an agreement might be reached with the PIF. Woods was asked in multiple ways whether he foresees an agreement happening but deftly avoided a definitive answer, most likely because there isn’t one at this moment.
“Ultimately we would like to have PIF be a part of our tour and a part of our product,” Woods said.
Asked whether he has met with Saudi officials himself, Woods said he has not. He has a sense of what their goals are in the negotiation but stopped short of characterizing any specifics.
“It’s an ongoing, fluid process,” he said.
Of more immediate concern is getting back competitive golf. There is a sense, at least at this point in the young year, that Woods may play more events than he has in several years.
It all starts Thursday at Riviera.
“I still love competing,” said Woods, who will be paired with Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland at 9:25 a.m. PST on the No. 1 tee in the $20 million signature event. “I love playing. I love being a part of the game of golf.”