‘Mind-boggling’: Tiger shank hits ‘stoked’ fan, almost nails albatross in unforgettable round

Tiger Woods recovered from a shanked tee shot that hit an ecstatic fan to produce an unforgettable third round – including a near albatross – as the 15-time major champion powered up the leaderboard at the Genesis Invitational.

In his first US PGA Tour event in seven months, Woods just snuck into the third round, making the halfway cut on the number – one-over par – after a three-over 74 in the second round.

But Woods hit back on Sunday morning (AEDT), making three birdies, an eagle and a bogey en route to a four-under 67 in Los Angeles.

That eagle on the par-five first — his 10th hole of the day — was almost an albatross after the US golfing legend produced a remarkable approach that threatened the hole before coming to a stop three feet from the pin. It led to a tap-in eagle putt, which saw him jump into the top 30 on the leaderboard.

It was Woods’s 189th eagle in PGA Tour competition and his ninth at Riviera — where he has never won in 13 prior starts.

“Today was better,” Woods said. “I felt like I made some nice adjustments with my putting and that was the thing that held make back yesterday.

“I’ve driven it well the last three days, my iron play was been good. And the firm conditions I like, that’s kind of right up my alley with iron play.

“I made a few adjustments today and some of the putts went in.”

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.

But he delighted the huge, vocal contingent of fans cheering him on at Riviera Country Club with one of the best rounds of the day — and his lowest in his four starts since a February 2021 car accident.

“There’s so much talk about reps in golf in the pro side of the game. The fact that he (Woods) can come here, put this round of golf together, make the cut and shoot this round with as few competitive reps as what he’s had is just mind-boggling,” major winner Trevor Immelman said in commentary.

Fellow commentator Jim Nantz declared Woods’ performance would be “a Saturday round that’ll be long remembered”.

Woods had already rolled in two birdies before he found trouble on the 13th hole, spraying his tee shot that, miraculously, landed in the jacket of a spectator.

An official and Woods then spoke with the stunned fan next to the fairway to determine what happened to the ball after it’d made contact with him. The fan said he took off his jacket and the ball dropped out, insisting he hadn’t touched the ball afterwards.

He cheekily said to Woods though: “Thank you, Tiger. If I could have, I would have pushed it out.”

The PGA Tour media team then interviewed the mad golf fan

“I followed Tiger for the last two days and I know he’s going to hit to the right. So I was telling all these guys around me: ‘Tiger’s going to hit over here.’

“All of a sudden he hit and nobody knows where it went. All of a sudden I’m looking around and I looked and I had this bump in my pocket in my jacket I have wrapped around (my waist). I go: ‘What the hell is that?’

“I pulled off my jacket and ball dropped off and it was his (Woods’). I thought of all the places, of all the times.”

The fan claimed Woods recognised him and said to him “it had to be you.”

He added: “I’ve gotten gloves and golf balls by him before. But this is just something. Getting hit by Tigers Woods was just incredible.

“What are the odds? I’m stoked.”

Woods opened his round with a 16-foot birdie at the 10th and picked up another shot at the 14th.

He got to five-under for the day — four-under for the tournament — when he rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the fifth.

Woods gave a stroke back at the seventh, where he missed the green and couldn’t get his 21-footer to save par to drop.

He closed with a pair of two-putt pars, his three-under total of 210 putting him tied for 26th, 12 shots behind Spain’s Jon Rahm, who topped the leaderboard at 15-under.

With his lower right leg and ankle still making walking problematic, Woods has said he hopes to play all four majors this year and a few other events.

He insisted this week that he wouldn’t tee it up if he didn’t think his fitness and his game would give him a chance to win.

His performance Saturday at Riviera, where he again negotiated the course tucked into the hills west of downtown Los Angeles smoothly, was encouraging, although the injuries certainly remain a factor.

“Well, there’s aches and pains and swelling,” Woods said. “I still have that heel issue. That’s why I didn’t play in the Bahamas.

“I’ve stopped walking now, it’s a little sore right now.

“The golf part I can do, it’s just a matter of whether I can get from point A to point B.”