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| -5 Harman (US), Finau (US); -4 Spieth (US); -3 Young (US), Scheffler (US), Morikawa (US), Homa (US); -2 Fitzpatrick (Eng), Thomas (US) |
| Selected others: Level Rose (Eng); +3 Woods (US) Full leaderboard |
Tiger Woods shot a three-over-par 75 on his return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
The 15-time Major champion, 47, has not played since having ankle surgery after injury forced him to withdraw from the third round of the Masters in April.
Woods was one under after 14 holes but a wayward drive on the 15th found a bush and cost him a double bogey to leave him 18th in the 20-player field.
“I was rusty, I didn’t have my feels,” Woods told the Golf Channel.
“I kind of hung through there, and I did not finish off my round when I needed to. Consequently, it kind of went sideways at the end.”
Americans Brian Harman and Tony Finau are tied for the lead on five under in the limited-field event, with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick three shots behind at Albany.
European Ryder Cup players Justin Rose and Sepp Straka are on level par with Viktor Hovland a stroke further back.
Woods said on Tuesday that caddying for his son Charlie at a 54-hole tournament earlier in November showed him he was ready to return.
“I’m a little bit sore, that’s for sure,” Woods added after the round.
“We’ve got some stuff to do tonight to get ready for tomorrow. And then we head back into the gym and get after it tomorrow, and hopefully post a better number.”
Woods had fusion surgery on a bone in his ankle to address post-traumatic arthritis following the 2021 car crash that kept him out of golf for nearly 14 months
The American said earlier this month he had “zero issues” with the ankle, but that other injury problems remain.
He hopes to play one tournament per month in 2024 and that this event will help to determine his schedule for next season.
