What’s Next for Tiger Woods After Finishing 72 Holes for the First Time Since 2022 Masters

The Genesis Invitational has to be considered a net positive for Tiger Woods.

Besides the drama that was brought on by handing Justin Thomas a tampon in Thursday’s opening round and Woods’ subsequent apology, of course.

Woods looked much healthier than he did in his 2022 appearances while finishing 72 holes for the first time since the 2022 Masters.

He placed 45^th at Riviera this week, finishing one shot under par and 16 behind winner Jon Rahm. Woods’ rounds were 69, 74, 67, and 73 on the par-71 course in Southern California.

After making the cut on the number on Friday, Woods was strong on Saturday with a 67. He struggled a bit more on Sunday but had a highlight-reel tee shot on the par-3 16^th hole on Sunday.

Right at the flagstick @TigerWoods ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/0TpultQ1Gf

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 19, 2023

Woods said:

“Overall, I felt like I’ve been hitting the ball like I have been hitting it at home.”

He added that he hid his pain a bit more than he did in last year’s outings.

Woods explained:

“I pretty much lay in ice pretty much all night. It’s not fun, very cold all the time. And then treatment, then getting muscles activated and go back and hop in the cold again. The ebb and flow of that, it’s hard. It’s hard mentally, it’s hard physically. It’s just one of those things, part of being an athlete – yes, we train; yes, we push our bodies, but it’s also what’s probably even more important is the recovery process. If you’re able to recover, you’re able to push it harder the next day.”

Woods said in the offseason that he planned to play the four majors and “maybe a couple more.” Riviera was one of the additional ones, but based on how the schedule falls, we likely won’t see Woods until Augusta.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational was one of his favorite events—Woods has won eight times at Bay Hill—but with it being in just two weeks, one wouldn’t expect Woods to be in Orlando. The same goes for The Players Championship the following week.

We’ll expect Woods to play in the Hero World Challenge in December, but that’s an exhibition event. In the 2019-20 season, he played in the Memorial Tournament along with the ZOZO Championship in Japan, which was the site of his last win.

Regardless of when we see him next, you can assume after this week’s successful round that Woods will be teeing it up at the Masters.

Cover Image Via Yahoo! Sports