NEWS
A hole-by-hole recap of Tiger Woods return at Torrey Pines
Tiger Woods is back playing in a full-field PGA Tour event for the first time since last year's Farmers Insurance Open.
He's starting his week on the tougher South Course at Torrey Pines with Patrick Reed and Charley Hoffman in his group.
MORE: Full leaderboard from the Farmers Insurance Open | Photos from Torrey Pines
Follow along with the highlights from his round below. You can also watch the action on PGA Tour LIVE here.
No. 18: Par 5, 577 yards
Well, Woods started the day left and will end the day left and in a fairway bunker. The bunker lie forces a layup and the wedge shot into the green didn't quite carry the ridge leaving a long uphill putt to try and end the day with a birdie. A nice lag putt to a foot and wraps up the day with a par. Final score for the day is an even-par 72 and seven shots off the lead of Tony Finau.
No. 17: Par 4, 442 yards
Woods decided to go with the 3-wood off the tee and misses the fairway but got a fortunate bounce on his 181-yard approach shot to find the green. The line on the putt was too low and never had a chance from over 30 feet. A simple stress-free par keeps him at even heading into the final hole.
No. 16: Par 3, 188 yards
Oh wow. Woods swinging freely down the stretch and putting on a show late in the round hitting a six iron to six inches. You don't need to hit long putts with shots like that. The tap-in birdie moves him back to even par and gives us a good highlight to watch a few times before his round tomorrow. Fun fact: The last time Tiger Woods hit an ace on the PGA Tour was 1998 (h/t Jason Sobel).
No. 15: Par 4, 478 yards
The tee shot on this one was of the variety that the tee is in the pocket before the ball reaches its apex. Another fairway hit for the stat sheet. A very nice approach shot leaves him on the right level of the green with a decent look at birdie. A miss on the putt from about 18 feet is a big missed opportunity as he settles for another par heading into the final stretch. His longest made putt of the day is about 5 feet.
No. 14: Par 4, 437 yards
Woods bounces back with a solid drive which finds the fairway. 141-yard approach shot finds the green and leaves about 20 feet for birdie. The putt just slides by and it's another par on the card.
No. 13: Par 5, 614 yards
Woods' drive heads right and into the gallery, but misses the series of bunkers there. From a physical standpoint, this might be the hardest shot he's had to hit today and showed no signs of hesitation. The layup shot finds the fairway and leaves a short wedge in. However, that wedge shot didn't go as planned and was hit heavy, ending up in the front right greenside bunker. He makes a difficult bunker shot look easy but the putt lips out from 5 feet. Not a good bogey as he heads back to 1-over on the day.
No. 12: Par 4, 490 yards
Woods' mastery of tour sauce was on full display off the tee box. The follow-through club drop would have made you think the ball was soaring well off line. TV cameras cut to the ball landing in the fairway and getting a nice roll and then cutting back to a giggling Tiger. A very Hiedki-an move. He blocked the approach shot but ends up on the green. An easy two putt for a stress-free par.
No. 11: Par 3, 221 yards
Woods played a smart shot off the tee to find the middle of the green and give himself a good look at birdie. After seeing Patrick Reed's putt go right, Woods overcompensated a bit and ended up missing on the left side. A good par on the fourth-toughest hole on the South Course today to remain at even.
No. 10: Par 4, 416 yards
Solid drive but can't give the fairway hit as the ball found the first cut of rough. From 132-yards, Woods hit a masterful wedge shot right over the pin and almost holed out as it hopped backward, settling just outside a foot from the cup. A strong birdie to start the back brings him back to even par.
No. 9: Par 5, 614 yards
Woods is finding a good rhythm off the tee and now has hit three fairways in a row. He ends up pushing his 3-wood shot left and into the cluster of greenside bunkers. The very long bunker shot leaves a long 20-footer for birdie. The putt never broke right and he taps in from a couple feet for a par. Woods goes out in 37 (1-over). Some stats:
No. 8: Par 3, 176 yards
Not a good tee shot from Woods. He goes long and is very unhappy about it. He faces really tricky chip from some very thick rough with the green running away from him and executes it perfectly. He almost holes out for birdie and erases what could have been a bogey situation.
No. 7: Par 4, 462 yards
And the club twirling continues with a beauty of a drive that soars 319 yards and finds the fairway. Not sure the pin could be in a tougher position today tucked in the back right. Woods takes a 9-iron from 148 yards and doesn't give it enough, ending up short-siding himself in the front right bunker. No matter. He takes advantage of the good lie and hits it tight to a couple of feet. Easy par putt.
No. 6: Par 5, 560 yards
Broke the trend of hitting driver left and found the center of the fairway off the tee. Hitting a 4-iron from 234-yards, we get a look at the old Tiger for a moment. Pure strike, walks after it, delivers the club twirl as the ball finds the green with a chance for eagle from about 50 feet. And oh what a chance it was. Perfect line, the putter raise and the ball stops about two inches short. The tap-in birdie brings Woods back to 1-over on the day.
No. 5: Par 4, 436 yards
Another driver off the tee for Woods and another ball that heads left. This one, however, missed the fairway and found the bunker. Not a great shot out of the bunker finds the right greenside bunker. Again, not a great shot out of the bunker leaves him with a tough 12-footer to try and save par. The putt slid by on the low side and Woods dropped another stroke. Now at 2-over par.
No. 4: Par 4, 491 yards
Woods hit a nice cut driver along the left side and caught the edge of the fairway. The 183-yard approach shot found the green but short, leaving a lengthy 45-foot putt. Not bad speed on the putt but rolled past about four feet leaving some work to do on the way back. Drains the putt and walks off with another par. Woods is 2/4 on greens in regulation and 2/3 on fairways hit.
No. 3: Par 3, 192 yards
Woods hit a very high 7-iron and hit his first green in regulation for the day. The birdie putt from 27 feet delivered the first knee-bend reaction from Tiger as the putt trickled just past the hole. Good read, good speed, just barely missed. A tap-in par to stay at 1-over.
No. 2: Par 4, 395 yards
Woods striped a 5-wood down the middle of the fairway. From 134-yards out, he was a little too strong on the approach shot and left himself with a tricky chip hitting into the grain of the thick Torrey Pines rough. Woods talked about the rough yesterday and how he hadn't hit out of anything except Bermuda since this tournament last year, so he was having to re-learn that feel. He escaped with a nice par after sinking about a 4-foot putt.
No. 1: Par 4, 431 yards
Off the first tee, Woods pushed his driver into the left-hand rough. His approach shot was left short-sided in the front right bunker where he showed good touch to leave himself a good look at par. A miss on the 9-footer left him with an opening bogey.