'If I'm Playing ... I'm Going to Try and Beat You': Tiger Woods's Mentality Still Hasn't Changed

Days before making his first official PGA Tour start since the 2022 British Open, Tiger Woods reminded everyone why he's here.

Tiger Woods's physical challenges over the last two years are well-documented: a painful rehabilitation from a February 2021 car crash that has made walking difficult and has significantly curtailed his PGA Tour appearances.

So weeks like this at the Genesis Invitational are rare, as Woods makes his first start in an official event since the 2022 British Open, where he missed the cut.

Yet the 47-year-old refuses to concede anything more than that admitting he's "very rusty;" instead he's still talking about winning.

"I would not have put myself out here if I didn't think I could beat these guys and win the event. That's my mentality," Woods said Tuesday in a pre-event press conference at Riviera Country Club. "I am very rusty, but I've come off a rusty situation before I've done well ... plus also I know this golf course."

Woods knows Riviera well, though he can't draw on any winning experience as he could at virtually any other Tour stop. In 13 previous appearances in the Genesis or its prior incarnations at Riviera, he has just one runner-up finish, in 1999.

The tournament's proceeds go to the Tiger Woods Foundation, so it's understandable that the Southern California native would support the event by playing. He has host duties as well, but said he's able to push those aside on the first tee. 

"I know that players have played and they are ambassadors of the game and try to grow the game," Woods said. "I can't wrap my mind around that as a competitor. If I'm playing in the event I'm going to try and beat you. I'm there to get a 'W,' O.K.?

"An ambassador role in hosting events like this, in hosting the Genesis Invitational or the Hero (World Challenge), doing those type of things, I totally get it. But as a player, I flip the hat around and become a player, and from a player standpoint, I'm here to get that 'W.'"