Tiger Woods is set to make his first start of the 2024 season at Riviera Country Club for The Genesis Invitational. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler is favored to win the tournament according to oddsmakers.
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00:00 We are gearing up for the Genesis Invitational here at Riviera Country Club.
00:04 Claudette Montana and Bob Haerig here with Sports Illustrated.
00:06 We're bringing you your golf coverage all week long.
00:09 So let's start off with Scotty Scheffler.
00:11 He's a favorite to win.
00:12 The Genesis Invitational has had a top 30 finish the last four years here at Riviera Country Club.
00:18 Do you think he's going to win the tournament?
00:20 Who are your favorites this week?
00:21 Well, I start with him.
00:22 He's the number one ranked player in the world.
00:24 He's just been on this incredible roll really for the last year.
00:28 Seems to be in contention almost every week.
00:31 Tied for third last week in Phoenix.
00:33 Hitting the ball great.
00:35 The only thing that keeps him from winning more is his putting.
00:37 If he has a good putting week, why wouldn't he be up there?
00:40 He had a good tournament here last year.
00:42 But look, there's so many other guys.
00:44 I mean, Rory's playing this week, Jordan Spieth.
00:47 Patrick Cantley is someone I personally think has a good chance this week.
00:50 I think this course suits him.
00:52 He's from this part of the country.
00:53 It helps him.
00:55 It's a signature event.
00:56 It's got almost all the top guys.
00:57 And look, we got Tiger back as well.
00:59 So I think it sets up for a nice week with probably a named
01:03 guy who's going to be up there.
01:04 Tiger Woods making his first start of the 2024 season.
01:07 Whenever you're talking about Tiger, obviously injury is going to be a question.
01:10 He had surgery on his ankle back in April, but we just heard from him
01:13 in the press conference.
01:14 He said he feels healthy.
01:16 How are you expecting him to do this week?
01:17 Yeah, look, I think there's some optimism surrounding Tiger.
01:21 I mean, I think it'd be a lot to ask him to contend, anything like that.
01:25 Everybody else has been playing and practicing.
01:28 It's his first tournament, as you said.
01:30 All these guys have three or four tournaments, a lot of practice
01:32 under their belt.
01:33 We don't really know how sharp Tiger is.
01:35 But from the pro-am and the practice round, he looks good in terms of he's
01:40 got a lot of pop.
01:41 He's hitting the ball out there.
01:42 He's hitting it solid.
01:43 These are trademarks of Tiger.
01:45 But where is the sharpness, the competitiveness?
01:49 It's so hard to practice that until you get inside the ropes.
01:53 And even Tiger has to overcome that.
01:56 So is he good around the greens?
01:58 Is he making putts?
02:00 This course has perplexed him in his career.
02:02 He's never won here, even though he's played here at this venue 14 times
02:07 in his career.
02:08 It's the venue he's played the most without a victory.
02:10 I mean, I think it's silly for us to talk about winning.
02:13 But I do think there can be some signs for him going forward,
02:16 make the cut, move on, and try to improve each day.
02:19 What would be a successful tournament for Tiger Woods?
02:21 Well, it's a small field.
02:23 So the thought is he probably should make the cut.
02:27 And he needs to make the cut to get more tournament rounds,
02:30 to get those two extra rounds on the weekend.
02:33 And look, it's only 70 players.
02:35 If he could finish top 30, top 25, I think that'd be terrific.
02:40 Last year, he tied for 45th in a full field event.
02:43 And he wasn't as good physically as he is now.
02:45 So I think there's some reason for optimism there.
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