Tiger Woods Finishes the Genesis Invitational's opening round back with three birdies

Tiger Woods completed the first round of the Genesis Invitational with a score of 69, celebrating his return to competitive play with a final trio of birdies. The tournament's host, who hadn't played without a cart since the Open Championship, where he missed the cut at St. Andrews, was five shots back of the joint leaders Max Homa and Keith Mitchell at Riviera Golf Club. On a day when he blended three bogeys with five birdies on a mild California day, the 47-year-legs old's held up. Woods claimed, "I really hit some decent strokes finally and made a few putts. Even though I had a little accident at age 10, I managed to bounce back and start things moving.It was a beautiful way to go. He claimed that as the round progressed, he felt more at ease. When it's time for the game, he claimed, "there's nothing like, just the sensation of the butterflies and trying to settle all that stuff down."In Riviera, Woods played alongside his buddies Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, and the group all made a birdie on the last hole. McIlroy persisted in his effort to surpass Scottie Scheffler and take over the top spot. The 33-year-old opened with a four-under 67 and is currently three strokes back of Scheffler, who could only manage a 70. With a win, McIlroy would pass the American regardless of the outcome for the later, while an outright third place would be sufficient for the Northern Irishman barring Scheffler's placing in the top 25 or Jon Rahm's victory or second-place finish. Rahm finished in third place after the first round with a 65, one stroke back of the joint leaders.Nonetheless, Woods stood out in a field that included 19 of the top 20 players in the world. Woods acknowledged that it was "a lot louder" than he had anticipated, and he was too busy trying to put together a strong round to enjoy the support of the crowd. Because I haven't played, Woods said, "I was trying to calm myself down all day, trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing out here." "I definitely should have enjoyed the supporters more than I did, but there was so much going through my brain trying to get the ball in the right places and the right sensations just because I haven't done this in a long," the player said.