By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer
LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods made it through 16 holes of his pro-am Wednesday at the Genesis Invitational on a bitterly cold morning with occasional 25 mph gusts that made the temperature feel like the upper 30s.
What mattered, at least for now, was how he finished. He didn’t play the last two holes at Riviera Country Club, but after shaking hands with his amateur partners, he had no trouble climbing the 52 steps that lead to the clubhouse.
There will be no stopping on Thursday when Woods competes against a full field of the world’s best players for the first time since missing the cut at St. Andrews in the British Open.
The plantar fasciitis that kept him from playing in the Bahamas in December is doing better. He said his ankle, badly injured from his February 2021 car crash in Rolling Hills Estates, is his biggest concern. There’s also that matter of rust.
“But I’ve come off a rusty situation before and I’ve done well,” Woods said Tuesday during his news conference.
He returned from knee surgery at the end of 2002 and won in his first start at Torrey Pines. He once took 10 weeks off after the 2007 tour season ended and won his World Challenge by seven shots.
He was younger, healthier and in his prime. His swing looks as efficient as ever, particularly with his irons. For Woods, it’s about getting to the next shot on a pair of legs that have been battered over the years.
And then there’s the matter of the golf course.
Riviera is among his favorite designs, but the love affair ends there. Woods stopped playing in this tournament after 2006, primarily because he rarely had good results. He alluded to that when he talked about his preparation for the Genesis Invitational.
“Plus, I know this golf course,” he said, pausing to smile before adding, “I know I haven’t had a lot of success on this golf course. But I knew what to practice for, shots to hit at home getting ready.”
It really is a mystery.
Woods…
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