Tiger Woods plays with NFL quarterback Josh Allen at The Genesis pro-am

Josh Allen was left “speechless” after meeting Tiger Woods last year at The Genesis Invitational.

This year, they played together in Wednesday’s pro-am at The Riviera Country Club.

The 15-time major winner and the star Buffalo Bills quarterback shared laughs down the fairways at the historic Los Angeles venue; Allen dug into Woods' golf strategies and competitive mindset with thoughtful questions throughout the day. Woods is set to make his first TOUR start since the Masters Tournament last year, teeing off alongside Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland at 9:25 a.m. local time Thursday. It will be Woods’ first non-major TOUR start since last year’s Genesis, as well.

In his final tune-up, Woods shared a day at Riviera with Allen, who has led the Bills to the playoffs in five straight seasons, and veteran MLB outfielder Aaron Hicks.

While Allen might have preferred celebrating a Super Bowl parade (that honor went to the Kansas City Chiefs), Allen soaked in wisdom from the 82-time TOUR winner.

"You can see the enjoyment he has and the addiction he has for the game of golf," Woods said. "He asked unbelievable questions about how he could get better."

Allen is no stranger to TOUR circles these days. After the Bills fell short to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, Allen played the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am alongside TOUR pro Keith Mitchell, the duo’s third consecutive pairing at Pebble Beach.

Allen, a native of Firebaugh, California, is an admitted golf addict whose love of the sport has continually grown in adulthood. He attended last year’s Genesis and met Woods after the final round, admitting that he was “a little starstruck obviously.”

“He’s one of the only athletes ever – him and Kobe are the only two guys that I actually felt my heart beat faster,” Allen said last year.

Woods finished T45 at last year’s Genesis, carding rounds of 69-74-67-73 at Riviera. He next competed at the Masters, making the cut with rounds of 74-73 before withdrawing during the third round; he underwent ankle surgery the following week. Woods, 48, returned to competition at the Hero World Challenge in December, finishing 18th in the 20-player field. The returns were positive health-wise, saying afterward that he intended to play one TOUR event a month in 2024. He’s on schedule.