What to expect from Tiger Woods at the Genesis after tour layoff - ESPN

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Tiger Woods arrived at Riviera Country Club outside Los Angeles on Tuesday with a fresh clothing line, a new caddie and renewed hope that this season will be different than the past three when he was still recovering from serious injuries suffered in a car wreck in February 2021.

Wearing his new Sun Day Red apparel, Woods played Riviera's back nine in a practice round Tuesday.

He is scheduled to play in Wednesday morning's pro-am and meet with the media later in the day.

This will be the first tournament in his professional career where he isn't decked from head to toe in Nike's famous swoosh.

On Thursday at the Genesis Invitational, Woods, 48, is set to make his first start in an official PGA Tour tournament in more than 10 months. It will be his first competitive rounds since he finished 18th in a 20-man field at the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event, in the Bahamas in December.

Woods' most recent start in an official PGA Tour tournament came at the Masters in April. After making the cut, he was forced to pull out of the 2023 season's first major in the weather-delayed third round because of severe pain in his right ankle and foot.

The 15-time major winner underwent fusion surgery on April 19 to address post-traumatic arthritis he suffered in the car wreck. The procedure sidelined him for nearly eight months.

After playing 72 holes at the Hero World Challenge, Woods said he was encouraged by how his surgically repaired right ankle and foot held up. He said he «drove it pretty much on a string all week» and was encouraged that he was hitting the middle face of his irons. However, he admitted his short game needed work.

Woods said he was inspired enough to believe he could play one