Tiger Woods to play with Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland in Rounds 1-2 at The Genesis Invitational

Tee times for the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational were released Tuesday, with all eyes on when – and with whom – Tiger Woods would make his 2024 PGA TOUR season debut.

It will be a comfortable pairing for Woods, who will play alongside close friends Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland in the opening two rounds at The Riviera Country Club. The group will tee off at 9:25 a.m. local time on Thursday and 11:54 a.m. on Friday. All groups will start on the first hole.

Woods is making his first start on the PGA TOUR since the Hero World Challenge in December, where he finished 18th in the 20-man field. His last start prior to that was the 2023 Masters, where he withdrew due to an ankle issue. Woods underwent a right ankle fusion last spring and missed eight months.

It’s already been a busy week for 82-time PGA TOUR winner at The Genesis, an event Woods also hosts. He unveiled his new clothing line, “Sun Day Red” on Monday night, and played a nine-hole practice round on Tuesday morning. Donning the Sun Day Red apparel, Woods looked unbothered by the ankle as he walked the back nine at Riviera. It was a continuation of the Hero World Challenge, where Woods said his ankle felt pain-free.

“Other parts are taking the brunt of the load so I'm a little more sore in other areas, but the ankle's good,” Woods said at the time.

Woods played Tuesday’s practice round alone, where he got reacclimated with the course and tested a new TaylorMade Qi10 3-wood. Woods stopped to chat with some of his team members and Thomas on the famous par-4 18th hole. Woods and Thomas will have plenty more time to chat once play gets going on Thursday.

Other notable pairings for the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational (all times local):

• Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay tee off at 9:13 a.m. on Thursday and 11:42 a.m. on Friday.
• Nick Taylor, Viktor Hovland and Sam Burns tee off at 9:01 a.m. on Thursday and 11:30 a.m. on Friday.
• Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler tee off at 11:42 a.m. on Thursday and 9:13 a.m. on Friday.
• Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy and Max Homa tee off at 11:54 a.m. on Thursday and 9:25 a.m. on Friday.