This week the PGA Tour is in Pacific Palisades, Calif. for the 2019 Genesis Open hosted by Tiger Woods. You can follow Tiger’s entire first round with our live blog below.
Rain storms wreaked havoc on the first round at Riviera on Thursday. After a seven-hour rain delay, the early scores were wiped out and the round was re-started. Only players in the morning wave were able to get on the course Thursday. Woods, whose tee time was among the afternoon wave, did not play any golf on Day 1, instead having to return on Friday morning to get his first round started.
Woods got his season off with a promising T20 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He will try to improve on his performance last year at Riviera Country Club, when he missed the cut early on in his comeback.
He is scheduled to finally start Round 1 at 11:32 a.m. ET on Friday, and we will cover every shot below.
(All times Eastern. Refresh the page for the latest updates.)
4:24: Woods from 24 feet for birdie…and he misses on the high side. He’ll tap for par and a one-under 70 to start his event. A solid score, but he missed a few very makable putts that cost him a few shots. He’ll head back out in the rain for Round 2 shortly. That’s it for the live blog. Enjoy the rest of the evening, and your holiday weekend!
4:18: Woods from 196..and he finds the green, about 25 feet short of the hole. Still, on this hole, any birdie putt is a good one.
4:11: On the famed, 474-yard par-4 18th, Woods takes driver and rips it down the middle. He finishes with nine of 14 fairways hit for the day.
4:07: The putt was 2 feet, 8 inches..and it pushes it past. My goodness, that was not good. His putt for bogey, also from two feet, drops. And he drops to one under for the round. Only the putter has held him back today.
4:05: Rain is coming down again in L.A., and Woods misreads the putt. He’ll have about 4 feet left for par.
4:01: Woods with a wedge from the rough, and it’s nicely done. The ball spins back a bit, to about 20 feet, but a good, safe shot. He has that left for birdie.
3:56: Woods lays it up from the rough..and his shot settles… in the rough. He’ll have a tough lie for his third, which he’ll try to wedge onto the green.
3:52: Woods on the par-5 17th, takes driver — and he hates it immediately. Looks like left rough there, and possibly with tree trouble. We’ll see.
3:48: And the left-to-right putt breaks away on the low side. He taps it in for par. He’s still two under with two holes left in his rain-delayed opening round.
3:45: On the 167-yard par-3, Woods knocks his tee shot safely on. Call it 30 feet for birdie.
3:40: Woods knock it in. Par. On to the 16th.
3:38: And the birdie putt misses and runs about 4 feet past. That’s left for par. He’s missed his last two putts inside 6 feet, so this would be a good one to turn the tide.
3:33: Woods from 182 yards .. and it hangs onto the left side of the green. Maybe 30 feet from there for birdie.
3:27: Woods on the tee at the par-4 15th — and his drills it up the left side of the fairway. Good swing, good result.
3:24: TIger’s putt, from 12 feet, drops right in the heart! He’s back to two under.
3:18: Woods tries now to collect himself on the 177-yard par-3. Six iron. And it’s a good one — hole high, and settles about 10 feet away. He’ll have that for a birdie.
3:16: Oh man, he pushed that one, too. Missed it on the right. To be fair, it was 5 feet, not 3, but still a very tough miss. He pars and heads to 14 at one under for the day.
3:12: Woods from the fairway on 13th …and that one is STAKED. He’s got 3 feet for a birdie to get back to two under.
3:04: On the 450-yard, par-4 13th, Woods takes driver and rips a draw right down the middle. Perfect.
3:02: Woods pushes his par putt, and it doesn’t even hit the lip. Poor putt there. That’s a bogey, and he drops back to one under.
2:58: Woods’s uphill-downhill-uphill putt runs out about 6 feet. That’s left for par.
2:49: Woods drive it into the rough, but he finds the green with his approach. He’ll have something like 60 feet for a birdie.
2:40: Woods’s birdie rattles in! That’s four in a row, and he’s two under. On to the 12th.
2:35: Woods’s pitch is away and…it’s not great. Short, and it takes the break and settles about 7 feet away. Still, he’s there for birdie.
2:30: Tiger gives it a rip with a fairway wood, and it comes up just a bit short, but he’ll have a straightforward, uphill pitch shot from there. Good spot.
2:21: Woods with driver off the tee, and he drills it up the right side, and it hangs in the fairway. That spot should be a green light for trying for the green in two.
2:18: And Woods knocks in the putt! Just like that, three birdies in a row. He’s one under for the day and now moves to the par-5 11th.
2:11: For his second shot, Woods clips it perfectly off the turf and his ball stops about five feet shot. Great shot from there. He’ll have that for a third straight birdie.
2:03: Woods takes a driver, gives it a lash, and the ball settles just left of the green. Also a little long. He’s in the fringe, but it’ll be a tricky pitch from there.
1:58: Still waiting for Woods to tee off on No. 10. But he has to be feeling good about the way he finished his opening nine.
1:50: Here’s a look at his first birdie at 8:
Didn't like the shot … still made birdie.@TigerWoods is on the board.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/Zir9wHbkHh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 15, 2019
1:49: BIRDIE! Tiger sinks his five-footer on 9 to close out the front with back-to-back birdies. He is now back to even par as he heads to the 10th tee.
1:44: That’s more like it. From the fairway at 9, Tiger hits his best shot of the day, sticking it to a few feet that sets up a short birdie chance.
1:39: Coming off his birdie, Tiger pounds his driver down the middle of the 9th fairway. You have to think Tiger will be thrilled if he can make the turn at even par considering his play so far today.
1:33: Now Tiger from 15 feet at the 8th… and he sinks it! Finally Tiger makes his first birdie off the day. He heads to the 9th at +1.
1:29: Tiger has just 125 yards left for his second shot at 8, but he doesn’t like it. It’s safe on the green, but a good 20 feet away.
1:23: Tiger takes aim down the left side and smashes a drive into the fairway. He really needs to get something going here.
1:21: Tiger, JT, and Rory are still waiting to play on the 8th tee. They’ve had to wait on almost every shot today due to slow groups in front of them.
1:16: Check that. Tiger just powered his par putt from two feet well passed the hole. He taps in the next one, but that’s a major mistake from Tiger early on. The bogey moves him to +2 over through 7.
1:14: As many of them have today, Tiger’s birdie putt from 17 feet slides passed the hole on the low side. t looks like he’ll have to settle for yet another par.
1:08: With the 7th green ahead of him finally clear, Tiger hits an iron from the fairway, and it’s a nice approach to about 10 feet, although his ball did come to rest against the collar which could make things tricky.
1:02: Tiger takes a wood off the tee at 7 and hits a nice one into the middle of the fairway.
12:56: Tiger can’t convert another birdie try at 6. He remains at +1.
12:51: Tiger takes a wedge off the tee on the short par-3 6th. He hits it to the back of the green and spins it back to about 20 feet.
12:44: 43 feet left for Tiger at 5… and it runs out of steam short of the hole. Good line, just not the right pace. Another par for Tiger.
12:39: Tiger hits a good one onto the green from the rough at 5, but he’s got a long putt for birdie.
12:32: At the par-4 5th, Tiger chooses what looks like his 5-wood off the tee and hits it into the left rough.
12:29: Another putt, and another poor read from Tiger. His short birdie try slides by the high side. Par, still at +1.
12:23: Next up is the par-3 4th hole at Riviera, which is playing just under 200 yards today. Tiger takes an iron and hits a good one to about 15 feet. He’ll have a good chance to erase that bogey on the last.
12:17: Tiger makes another poor stroke with his fourth shot at the 3rd hole, and it doesn’t drop. He settles for bogey and is now +1. JT makes par to stay at -1 with McIlroy.
12:14: There’s a full 63 feet between Tiger’s ball and the hole. His long birdie try is not up to his standards. The line confused him, and he has work left to do for par at 3.
12:12: Tiger’s lie is good, but he hits it short to the front of the green and the spin keeps it from rolling towards the hole that’s cut at the back.
12:05: Using his driver for the second time today, Tiger knocks his tee shot on 3 into the left fairway. It rolled out a yard into the rough, but his lie looks good.
11:59: Tiger nearly chips in from in front of the 2nd green, but it just burns the edge. He’ll tap in from there for a par.
11:56: From the right rough on 2, Tiger hits his approach shot just inches short of the green, but it bounces backwards and finishes well off the putting surface.
11:52: At the par-4 2nd, Tiger hits his tee shot into the rough, and it may have settled down.
11:48: JT sinks his 8-footer to match Rory’s birdie. Tiger also cleans up for par, but he certainly didn’t expect to lose the hole after being the only one in the fairway off the tee.
11:47: Not good. Tiger’s birdie try races by the low side. The 1st hole is a must-birdie for most pros, and now Tiger has a few feet left just to save par.
11:45: McIlroy fails to drain his eagle putt. He settles for a birdie at No. 1.
11:44: Tiger splashes a nice one from the bunker with his third shot. He’ll have less than 10 feet to open with a birdie.
11:42: Tiger’s approach from the fairway fails to cut as planned, and his ball comes to rest short in a greenside bunker. Not good from there.
11:40: Thomas knocks it up just short of the green from underneath a tree. McIlroy sticks his own approach from the rough to about 20 feet. Now Tiger from the fairway…
11:35: Justin Thomas sprays his drive into the right rough, and McIlroy follows with a drive wide left.
11:32: Our featured group is now on the 1st tee. Tiger hits first and… crushes a driver down the left side of the fairway. Good start for Tiger on the opening par-5.
11:30: Jordan Spieth just finished off his bogey-free first round. He’s got the early lead at -7.
11:28: For his first round at the Genesis, Woods is rocking a long black tee underneath a teal golf shirt with a black Nike vest on top.
11:22: Tiger is getting in some last-minute reps on the practice putting green at Riviera. 10 minutes until he tees off.
10:50: The course is soaked from yesterday’s storms, but the sky at Riviera is clear for now. However, there is some rain in the forecast for later in the day.
10:45: Tiger is still grouped with Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy. After they finish their first round on Friday, they are going to turn right around and start Round 2.
10:40 a.m.: Tiger Woods is scheduled to tee off at 11:32 p.m. ET today (Friday). He’s already got his work cut out for him. Jordan Spieth is going low already:
For the outright lead.@JordanSpieth is 6-under thru 15 holes @GenesisOpen.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/bWt7PRUaL8
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 15, 2019
