The California native had previously played well at Los Angeles Country Club, but first rounds at major tournaments haven’t always gone smoothly. On Thursday, he found his game for a two-under 68.
Who can forget Woods’s U.S. Open win by 15 strokes at Pebble Beach in 2000, or his 19-hole playoff in 2008 at Torrey Pines? “It does feel wrong that he’s not here,” his fellow Californian Max Homa says.
Golfers competing in Los Angeles this week were caught off guard by the news that the PGA Tour and LIV had planned to join forces. Now they have to try to win a major.
The defending champion comes to Oak Hill without finishing first in any of the 20 events he has entered since claiming his second career major victory in 2022.