Tiger Woods is back and ready to roar again at the Genesis Invitational

Tiger Woods is back and playing the Genesis Invitational this week, two years after his fateful car accident that once made that seem improbable

To see the smiling, confident Tiger Woods step to the microphone on Tuesday prior to the start of the Genesis Invitational would be to forget that he’s returning to the scene of near-tragedy.

It was two years ago, shortly after the 2021 Genesis at Riviera, that Woods crashed his SUV in a single-vehicle accident just south of Los Angeles. His right leg was fractured; doctors said he was lucky to be alive.

After two years of relentless rehab and remarkable recovery, Woods is preparing to do something this week that seemed unthinkable on that fateful afternoon: tee off in a PGA Tour event. By the time he steps to the first tee box on Thursday, it would’ve been 844 days since he’s made a start in a non-major tournament.

The leg is still not completely healed and likely never will be. He admits he still struggles to walk 18 holes and has yet to walk a course for four consecutive days this year. But he has seen enough improvement that he can at least attempt to get back to playing on tour again.

“As far as the recovery, it’s more my ankle, whether I can recover from day to day. The leg is better than it was last year, but it’s my ankle,” he said on Tuesday. “So being able to have it recover from day to day and meanwhile still stress it but have the recovery and also have the strength development at the same time, it’s been an intricate little balance that we’ve had to dance. But it’s gotten so much better the last couple months.”

Tiger Woods has a long history at the Genesis and Riviera

Woods is choosing for his comeback a tournament that has meant a lot to his personal history. It was here at Riviera, in the former Los Angeles Open in 1992, that a then-16-year-old Woods played his first PGA Tour event. The event is hosted by his foundation and awards the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, which honors an African-American golfer seeking to follow in Woods’ footsteps.

But it’s also a tournament that has frustrated him. Woods has several courses that he’s conquered throughout his career: Bay Hill; Torrey Pines; Firestone. Riviera is not one of them. Woods has played 13 tournaments at the course where his journey first began and has never won, his best showing a runner-up finish in 1999. In 14 appearances in this event, the closest he’s come to a win was a playoff loss to Billy Mayfair when the event was held at Valencia in 1998, the only time Woods has lost in a playoff in his career.

Still, the long and arduous rehab hasn’t taken away any of Woods’ self-confidence. His daily routine is much the same as it’s always been: practice his short game on the putting green in his backyard, hit balls at Medalist in South Florida, then hop into a cart and get in a few holes. The field at the Genesis features 19 of the top 20 players in the world. Woods will be paired with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas in the first two rounds, a familiar grouping of long-time competitors, friends, and now, in Mcilroy’s case, business partners in the new TGL that will launch next year.

But Woods isn’t here this week to pal around with old friends. Even after all he’s gone through the last two years, his expectations are the same: to win against the best players in the world. “I would not have put myself out here if I didn’t think I could beat these guys and win the event,” he said. “That’s my mentality. I am very rusty, but I’ve come off rusty situations before and I’ve done well.”

Woods won’t play a full PGA Tour schedule again. He’ll have to pick and choose which events he’ll play for the rest of his career, balancing his competitive desire for more titles with the realization that his leg won’t allow it. Any appearance he makes from now on is a special event.

His career began here. It nearly ended here. And, now, two years on, he’s back and ready to conquer the course, his competitors, and the limitations on his body once again.

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