‘I shanked it’ – Tiger Woods reveals back spasms caused shocking moment at Genesis Invitational

Tiger Woods endured a moment to forget on his PGA Tour comeback after shanking an effort on the last hole of the Genesis Invitational.

Woods was making his first serious PGA Tour appearance since undergoing fusion surgery on his ankle last April, taking to Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles as tournament host.

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Despite being widely regarded as the golfer player of all time, the 15-time major winner proved that he is still human with a drastically mishit effort that sailed off to the right and into the trees on 18.

Every golfer is prone to a shank from time to time, but thankfully for Woods, he had the quality to get himself back on track with an impressive recovery shot that helped him to limit the damage with a bogey.

All-in-all, it was a decent return to action for the busted-up 48-year-old, who ended the day on +1.

Explaining the brutal moment at the last, Woods revealed back spasms were affecting his game through the closing holes.

“Oh, definitely, I shanked it,” Woods said.

“My back was spasming the last couple holes and it was locking up.

“I came down and it didn’t move and I presented hosel first and shanked it.”

When asked to recall the last time he shanked one, Woods added: “Definitely been a while. 

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“Other than trying to hit flop shots and other kinds of weird shots around the greens, not from the position I was at.”

But fans were certainly taking comfort from seeing their golfing hero doing something that was so familiar to so many.

Referencing his shank, one fan wrote: “This makes me feel better about my own golf game.”

Another said: “I feel a lot better about shanking my pitch shot into the creek on #1 today after coming home and watching this.”

Meanwhile a third said: “The good news is that I was doing that constantly with my lob wedge last week but it’s now fixed. He can DM me if he wants.”

Woods is clearly enjoying his return to action and even found time for an In-N-Out burger during his preparations for the competition.

Pulling up his cart by the stand on the course, Woods placed his order before tucking into his burger – but not before removing his pickles.

Listen to live coverage of the Genesis Invitational on talkSPORT 2!