The golf world was excited to learn that Tiger Woods was returning to competitive tournament golf when he announced last week that he was playing in the Genesis Open in Los Angeles. The return of the sport's greatest superstar was a major success, as Woods closed the opening round of the tournament with three straight birdies.

Woods shot a 2-under par 69 and is 5 strokes behind leaders Max Homa and Keith Mitchell.

Woods has played sparingly since enduring a brutal injury following a car wreck in 2021, but he has been working diligently to get to the point where he could play 4 competitive rounds in a tournament and give himself a chance to win. While he still has 3 rounds to go in the Genesis Open, his finishing flurry provided a huge boost to his confidence.

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Woods was the only player in the field to birdie the three finishing holes at the Riviera Country Club. This is his first tournament since competing in The Open Championship last year, and it is his first non-major event since the 2020 golf season.

The birdie on 16 was keyed by an approach shot to within 5 feet, and he followed that with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th. He made another sharp approach on 18 before connecting on a 7-foot birdie.

“I was able to fight back and get it going,” Woods said. “It was a nice finish.”

Woods appeared to limp early in the round, but his gait appeared to improve in the latter stages of the round. After finishing the first round at 5:08 p.m. Pacific Time, Tiger Woods and playing partners Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy will tee off Friday at 7:24 a.m.