LOS ANGELES — Jordan Spieth signed for the wrong score at the Genesis golf Invitational and was disqualified for the first time in the 263 tournaments he has played on the PGA Tour.
Spieth owned up to the mistake in a post on X. “I signed for an incorrect scorecard and stepped out of the scoring area, after thinking I went through all procedures to make sure it was correct. Rules are rules, and I take full responsibility,” he wrote.
The American professional golfer, who won an NCAA title with Texas at Riviera, said he loves the course as much as any on the PGA Tour and “it hurts to not have a run at the weekend.”
Spieth was within three shots of the lead at the turn in the second round at Riviera until he dropped three shots as Patrick Cantlay, playing in his group, began to pull away, AP reported.
Spieth made double bogey on the 18th hole for a 73, leaving him 10 shots behind. But he signed for a 3 on the par-3 fourth hole when he actually made a 4, leading to the disqualification. Spieth had missed the green to the left, chipped to about 4 feet and lipped out.
That leaves 51 players in the field for the weekend at Riviera. The signature event had a 36-hole cut to top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead.
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, returned to the PGA Tour and lasted only 24 holes, withdrawing from the Genesis Invitational with flu-like symptoms and dehydration after hitting his tee shot on the seventh hole at Riviera.
Rob McNamara, his longtime associate and vice president of TGR Ventures, said Woods felt flu symptoms Thursday night that worsened when he woke up.
“He had a little bit of a fever and was better during the warm-up, but then when he got out there and was walking and playing, he started feeling dizzy,” McNamara told a PGA Tour official.
“Ultimately, the doctors are saying he´s got potentially some type of flu and that he was dehydrated. He´s been treated with an IV bag and he´s doing much, much better, and he´ll be released on his own here soon.”
Woods left Riviera about two hours after he withdrew, sitting in the front seat of a red SUV as it departed.
He was 1-over par for the round – 2 over for the tournament – and projected just outside the cut when he asked for a cart and was driven off the course by a rules official. He has been walking slowly and looked drained of energy playing the front nine.
“He obviously wasn´t himself, just didn´t look right. Saw that before the round started,” said Gary Woodland, who played in the same group with Woods along with Justin Thomas.
“Obviously, everything´s better with him there and for him for his first tournament back and he couldn´t come out and finish the way he wanted to, that sucks for all of us.”
Woodland said he noticed Woods being quieter than normal, though they all were trying to make sure they were among the top 50 to make the cut.
“I feel bad for him. He wasn´t right,” Woodland said. “He definitely was trying to fight through it and I hope he´s all right.”
The 48-year-old Woods still managed to create quite a spectacle at Riviera.
Woods had not played an official event since the Masters last April, withdrawing in the middle of the rain-delayed third round.
He played the unofficial Hero World Challenge in December against a 20-man field with no cut, and the 36-hole PNC Championship with his son, Charlie.
Woods now has played six official tournaments since returning from a February 2021 car crash in Los Angeles that shattered bones in his right leg.
He has pulled out of three of them – the 2022 PGA Championship after 54 holes, the 2023 Masters when he didn´t return Sunday morning to complete the third round.
