Woods ready for weekend ... and better putting at Riviera

Tiger Woods will be aiming for a better day on the greens when he tees off on Saturday in the third round of the Genesis Invitational, his first US PGA Tour event in seven months.

Woods made the halfway cut on the number -- one-over par -- after a three-over 74 on Friday.

The cut was confirmed on Saturday after 14 players stranded when darkness halted play on Friday completed their rounds.

Woods, sill wrestling with the serious leg injuries he suffered in a February 2021 car accident, hasn't played four rounds of a tournament since last year's Masters, where he made a stunning comeback to finish 47th.

He returned to play in the PGA Championship in May, but withdrew after 54 holes following a third-round 79.

He missed the cut at the Open Championship at St. Andrews after an emotional second round.

Woods said this week that he hadn't tested his surgically repaired right leg over four 18-hole rounds in the run-up to the tournament.

He said the between-round treatment remains intensive, but he showed little sign of trouble navigating the Riviera Country Club course tucked into the hills of Pacific Palisades west of downtown Los Angeles.

He went into the third round 11 shots off the lead held by American Max Homa, and said poor putting was the culprit in his three-over par 74 on Friday.

"I did not putt well," Woods said. "(I) probably should have shot five or six better than this, easily."

Woods also struggled with accuracy off the tee, finding just five of 14 fairways. He was crisp with his irons, but lost more than a stroke to the field in putting.