After being slammed for a chauvinistic prank on Justin Thomas on Friday, Tiger Woods may have redeemed himself with fans on Saturday at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles by giving a young spectator the thrill of a lifetime. Woods, who was four under par on Saturday to switch to three under par for the tournament, saw a young fan on the 17th hole holding a strange sign.
“My bucket list,” read the sign.
“Get a heart transplant,” read the next line next to a large check mark.
“Meet Tiger Woods” was written on the second line next to an empty box.
Woods approached the young fan, later identified as heart transplant recipient Madelyn Quinn, personally ticked off the second line on her tag and gave her an autographed glove.
After being slammed for a chauvinistic prank on Justin Thomas on Friday, Tiger Woods may have redeemed himself with fans on Saturday at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles by giving a young spectator the thrill of a lifetime. Woods, who was four under par on Saturday to switch to three under par for the tournament, saw a young fan on the 17th hole holding a strange sign
Quinn also received an awkward high five from Woods, who was heading towards the 18th tee at this point.
She had a third line on her sign that said “Play Augusta,” but that’ll have to wait another day.
As reported by Golf Digest, Quinn was born with a heart defect that led to her undergoing three open-heart surgeries that began when she was just two years old.
Quinn dreams of becoming a professional golfer.
Her father Greg is a former PGA teaching pro who has taken her to Woods twice now.
“Thank you @TigerWoods – it’s things like this that don’t get enough media and attention,” Greg tweeted. You the man!!!’
Greg described her heart transplant recovery to the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2021.
“It was the most wondrous transformation we’ve ever seen,” said Greg. “Her cheeks were pink, she felt warm for the first time. You don’t realize what heart failure can do until you live it every day. Since then she’s been driving a million miles an hour.’
Woods had some explaining to do on Friday, about a putter that was so cold it nearly missed the cut on the Riviera and a chauvinistic prank he played on Justin Thomas at the Genesis Invitational.
Woods approached the young fan, later identified as heart transplant recipient Madelyn Quinn, personally ticked off the second line on her tag and gave her an autographed glove
Her father Greg says she ranks 41st in the world for her age group
Returning to elite competition for the first time in seven months, Woods caused quite a stir in the opening round for all the wrong reasons.
It started when he ripped a 323-yard drive, about 10 yards longer than 29-year-old Thomas. Woods walked off the tee and discreetly put something in Thomas’ hand, which Thomas threw on the ground when he realized what it was – a tampon to remind him Woods had kept hitting it. Woods laughed and put his arm around Thomas.
Social media came alive when the moment was posted. On Friday, a fan shouted, “Tampon!” at Woods after he made a rare putt.
Woods apologized after his bogey-bogey finish for a 74 in the second round, which left him over the projected cut line. At the end of the day he advanced enough that he was sure to be there for the weekend. He was 11 shots behind Max Homa.
“It was just meant to be fun and games, and obviously it didn’t turn out that way,” Woods said. “If I offended anyone in any way, I’m sorry. It was not intended that way. It was just that we played pranks on each other all the time, and I don’t think it went viral that way.
He seemed to put it behind him on Saturday by shooting his best round since 2020.
Woods plays a shot on the 17th hole during the third round of The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. Minutes later, Woods would meet Madelyn Quinn
Woods is 12 shots behind leader Jon Rahm after hitting a 67 on Saturday.
“Today was better,” Woods said. “I felt like I made some nice adjustments to my putting and that’s what held me back yesterday. I’ve been riding well for the last three days, my iron game has been good. And the hard conditions that I like, that’s my thing with iron game. I just wish I could have putt a little bit better yesterday.”
What stood out was the day. It was his best result on a Saturday at an official event since fall 2019.
It’s certainly a small sample – 12 tournaments since he won the Zozo Championship in Japan in 2019 – but his legs are a bigger problem than how he swings the racquet.
Woods fractured bones in his right leg and ankle in a car accident in Los Angeles two years ago. He returned 14 months later to play at the Masters and made the cut, a remarkable feat. And then, over the weekend, he hobbled to a pair of ’78s.
A month later at Southern Hills for the PGA Championship, he made the cut again on Friday with a stunning play on the track. But the wind shifted, a cold front hit Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he shot 79 and retreated.
Woods made the cut on the number at Riviera and started on the back nine. He opened with a 15-foot birdie putt, missed a good chance on the par-5 11th, and then raised the putter in his left hand when his 25-foot birdie putt off the edge of the par-14 3 dropped for another birdie.
Tiger Woods goes up the 9th hole after hitting his tee shot during Round 3 of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles
The greatest moment was on the par 5 opening hole after he made the turn. Caught between clubs and feeling some wind on his face, he hit a cut with a 5-iron that landed at the front of the green and rolled inches off the cup before settling 3 feet away in a tap-in eagle equaled.
He finally dropped a shot on the seventh when his approach rolled off the steep ledge, leaving a difficult incline. But he finished better than Friday when he bogeyed three of his last four holes.
“I thought I could get a run where I could reach and touch the leaders,” Woods said, before admitting he was too far behind.
Rahm is playing on a different level, a level Woods is familiar with. The Spaniard has not finished in the top 10 since August and is targeting his fifth win in his last nine starts.
Woods said he was in pain after his fourth straight day – starting with Wednesday’s Pro-Am when he stopped playing after 16 holes – and he speaks of recovering after a round and preparing before that.
That part isn’t fun. Saturday was. And while the morning chill wasn’t great, the fast-paced Riviera conditions are right up his alley.
“I was pretty one-dimensional when it came to how I hit my shots,” he said. “I kind of went to my little stock shot because I just wasn’t playing enough where I feel like I can hit different shots. … The way the golf course plays, as fast as it is, a flat cut can go a long way here, so I was able to hit that shot. Then with the firm greens I enjoy that for my iron game and finally made some putts.’
Sunday will be his first 72-hole event since the Masters and only his second since his car accident that happened not far from Riviera. Woods is already looking forward to his return to Augusta National, but wants to wait until after this week to add tournaments before then.
Tiger Woods is interviewed after completing his round during the third round of The Genesis Invitational on Sunday at Riviera Country Club