PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — As players increasingly turn to stat gurus to tell them about past performance at courses, Tiger Woods said he’s less about deep stat dives and more about scoreboard watching. Particularly when he has an afternoon time as he does in round one of the Genesis Open.
“By the time I start off in the afternoon, most guys are done between 7 to 13, 14 holes and I like to get kind of a feel how it’s playing,” Woods said when asked if he’d looked to past stats to figure out why he has been winless at Riviera Country Club.
“Taking a look at that and understanding that, when I go out on the course in my afternoon session, I have an understanding of what some of the tricks or some of the things that I might be able to take advantage of and also where I need to play defense. I think that’s very important.”
While Woods still jokes about his one legitimate chance to win here in the 1999 event, he has posted his share of 65’s and a 64 at Riviera. But those were in the days before cell phones.
“Because of technology, looking at my phone and being able to look up those scores before I go and in my warm-up process has been a big help,” he said.
With a 100 percent chance of rain, just how much golf Woods can scout out remains to be seen.
