Final-Hole Shank Punctuates Up-and-Down Round for Tiger Woods at Genesis Invitational

The tournament host said he couldn’t remember the last time he hit a shot like the one at the 18th on Thursday.

Among golf’s many axioms is the very relatable one that says the hardest shot to hit is the one following a shank.

Tiger Woods faced that dilemma Thursday during the opening round of the Genesis Invitational, a rare misfire from one of the game’s greatest players, one that he owned immediately after his 8-iron approach from the 18th fairway at Riviera Country Club sailed an ugly 70 yards right.

“Oh definitely, I shanked it,” Woods said when the subject was broached tepidly after his score of 1-over 72.

Typically, golfers don’t even like to even utter the word.

“Well, my back was spasming the last couple holes and it was locking up,” said Woods after his first competitive round of 2023. “I came down and it didn’t move and I presented hosel first and shanked it.”

He said he couldn’t remember the last time he did so.

“It’s been a while, definitely been a while,” he said. “Other than trying to hit flop shots and other kind of weird shots around the greens, not from the position I was at.”

His ball came to rest 100 yards from the pin and behind a tree but he managed to punch it up onto the green and then two-putted for a bogey.

It was an up-and-down day, one that should probably be expected after a lengthy layoff for the 15-time major champion who has never won at Riviera.

After a shank at the 18th hole, Tiger Woods reached the green from behind a tree and two-putted for bogey.

Harry How/Getty Images

The Genesis, which Woods’s foundation runs and he hosts, is his first official tournament since he withdrew from the Masters and then had ankle surgery last April, another in a long line of medical procedures following injuries to his lower right leg following a February 2021 car crash.

Woods returned to play the Hero World Challenge in December and the PNC Championship and showed plenty of promise at both, saying his ankle felt far better and was no longer his main issue.

“Foot’s good. Leg’s a little bit sore, things are a little bit sore, but that’s to be expected,” he said. “That’s nothing that we weren’t prepared for and we’ve got some work to do tonight and tomorrow.”

Competing in the 70-player signature event, Woods managed a decent score, but one that beat just 11 players. He was tied for 49th and needs to be among the top 50 and ties or within 10 shots of the lead to make the cut. He was eight shots behind tournament leader Patrick Cantlay, who shot 64.

“I think sharpness. I just haven’t—as I said, making adjustments on the fly like that and the feel for a round and how to make those adjustments, I haven’t done that in a while,” he said. “As I said when we were playing Hero, I was getting better each and every day, but then again I haven’t played in a while again. That’s kind of the frustrating part of it.”

Woods birdied the 1st hole, made consecutive bogeys at the 2nd and 3rd, then birdied the 4th and the 6th after excellent iron shots. He also lipped out a birdie putt at the 5th.

He made the turn in 1 under but then got a bad break at the famous 301-yard 10th where he hit driver, saw it bounce hard on the green and over into a bunker. From there, he had to play away from the pin, saw his ball roll off the green, then chipped on and two-putted for bogey.

After a birdie at the 11th, Woods missed the green at the 12th for a bogey, made a terrific up and down at the 13th to save par, couldn’t get up and down from a bunker at the 15th, then blasted a 324-yard drive at the 17th to set up a two-putt birdie.

At the 18th, Woods had 176 yards left after a drive into the fairway when the inexplicable occurred.

“I had a small window there, 96 front, 27 total and tried to hit a punch hook 8-iron after I just shanked an 8-iron,” Woods said. “I said, ‘All right, the next shot’s supposed to be the harder shot’ and yes, it was because I’m having to hit a little punch hook through a little gap there and I pulled it off, which is good.”

For the day, Woods hit eight of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens. He was 0 for 4 from the sand and needed 30 putts.

“I’m going to be rusty and I have to do a better job at home prepping,” he said. “We need to do a better job with lifting and treating and continuation of rehab protocols, all those things. I just haven’t done it in a while.”