LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods’ official return to competitive golf since withdrawing from the 2023 Masters will come early Thursday in a grouping made up of three local stars.
Woods will tee off at 12:25 p.m. for the first round of the Genesis Invitational, a tournament he hosts at Riviera Country Club. Woods, from Jupiter Island, is playing with Tequesta’s Justin Thomas and Delray Beach’s Gary Woodland.
Woodland is making his fourth start since returning from surgery to remove a tumor from his brain.
Woods, 48, had ankle surgery two weeks after the Masters and did not play a competitive round of golf until early December at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
Two weeks later, he played with his son Charlie in the PNC Championship in Orlando. The Genesis is his first official PGA Tour event since the latest setback.
While he was “able to knock a lot of the rust off” at Hero, Woods said his “hands felt better with control hitting shots” at the PNC.
On Monday, Woods revealed his latest collection of clothing called “Sun Day Red.” The next morning, he wore the apparel while participating in a nine-hole practice round. This year, Woods aims to participate in one tournament per month during the major season.
His schedule, unless an unexpected issue arises, will consist of Genesis, The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, the PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky.; U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, and the British Open at Royal Troon. “In December, Woods stated that currently we have established the largest events, with one taking place every month.
This allows for such a schedule to be accommodated. Now, my focus is on preparing myself for the upcoming events.”
Three years ago, during this event, Woods experienced a major car accident south of Los Angeles. This incident resulted in severe injuries to his lower right leg, ankle, and foot.
Woodland, Thomas also on comeback trail.
Woodland and Thomas also are looking for comeback seasons in 2024, but for different reasons.
Woodland returned last month at the Sony Open in Hawaii after undergoing surgery Sept. 18 This is his fourth start of the season. He is looking to make his first cut.
Thomas has turned around his game after a disappointing 2023 that saw him miss the playoffs, snapping a streak of seven consecutive appearances in the Tour Championship. He has made three starts this season with two top 10s and a 12th-place finish in last weekend’s Phoenix Open.