Tiger Woods (USA), the ‘Emperor of Golf’, shot a flare of revival by spending a fantastic moving day at the Genenis Invitational (total prize money of 20 million dollars), his comeback match after 7 months. If this trend continues, it is expected that it will be possible to compete for the championship at the Masters, which will be held in the first week of April.
On the 19th (Korean time) on the 3rd day of the tournament held at the Riviera Country Club (par 71) in Pacific Palisades, California, USA, Woods hit 4 under par 67 with 1 eagle, 4 birdies and 1 bogey. Woods, who advanced to the final round with a pull-up, recorded an interim total of 3-under-par 210, moving up 32 places in the rankings to a tie for 26th.
Woods’ 4 스포츠토토 under par on this day is the best score after recording a 4 under par 68 in the first round of the Masters in November 2020. The last time Woods finished in the top 10 in a PGA Tour event was at the Farmers Insurance Open (tied for 9th) in January 2020.
Woods, who recorded 2 under par on the first day and 3 over par on the second day, performed splendid plays worthy of the word ‘resurrection’. Woods, in particular, left 190 yards from the par 5 hole 1 to the pin, and put the second shot with a 6-iron on the pin 90cm and connected it with an eagle. It was a great play that reminded me of the heyday.
Woods made the only bogey on the 7th hole (par 4) due to an approach mistake, but he played neatly without feeling anxious in the rest of the holes. After the match, Woods said, “Honestly, my body hurts everywhere. However, he was satisfied, saying, “I started to play as I used to do in the past.”
The reason Woods is satisfied is that despite his good performance, his right leg is holding up well until the third round. If the final round is completed well, it is expected that he will be noticed as a strong candidate for the championship in the Masters, the first major tournament of the season with less than 50 days left.
A fan named Madeline Quinn, a girl who visited the tournament, came out with a poster listing Woods participating in the Masters as one of her bucket lists. This girl put a heart transplant on her first bucket list and ticked it off. And the second bucket list was to meet Woods, and the third was Woods’ participation in the Masters. Woods visited this girl after completing the 17th hole, personally checked off his second bucket list, signed her golf gloves, and moved on to the next hole.
John Rahm (Spain), who is aiming to return to world No. 1, took the lead with 6 birdies without bogey and a median total of 16 under par, 198 strokes, 4 strokes ahead of 2nd place Max Homa (USA). Ram has already won two victories in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the American Express, and if he wins this tournament, he will be able to push back Scotty Scheffler (USA) in one week and return to world No. 1.
Korean players were pushed to the middle and lower ranks. The best result was that Kim Joo-hyung and Lim Seong-jae tied for 45th with an interim total of 1 under par. Lim Seong-jae lost 3 strokes and fell 33 places in the rankings. Rookie Kim Seong-hyun is tied for 55th with an even par average.