Tiger Woods revealed his nasty shank on the final hole of his return to the PGA Tour was the result of a back spasm.<br /><br />The 48-year-old hit a bogey on the 18th hole to finish his opening round on one-over par in California. <br /><br />Woods dropped the shot after shanking his second from the fairway into the trees, dropping his club shortly after making contact.<br /><br />The 15-time major winner recovered to escape with only a five and afterwards Woods provided a worrying update on his creaking body.<br /><br />The 48-year-old said his shank was the result of a back spasm. He revealed that his body was acting up for the final three holes and his back 'locked up' and didn't rotate as normal.<br /><br />'I shanked it,' Woods said with a smile. 'My back was spasming the last couple of holes and locking up. I came down (on my follow-through) and it didn't move.'<br /><br />When asked when he last hit a shank, he added: 'It's been a while.' <br /><br />Woods has undergone several operations on his back, including one to fuse his lower spine. He was also involved in a near-fatal car crash after the Genesis Invitational in 2021. <br /><br />Woods headed for the treatment table following his round, telling the Golf Channel: 'We have some treatment ahead of us... to be ready for tomorrow.'<br /><br />Woods, the tournament host at Riviera Country Club, played his first round of an official PGA Tour event since last year's Masters - 10 months ago - after recovering from ankle surgery.<br /><br />He carded five birdies and five bogeys through the first 17 holes, never dropping lower than 1 under par or going higher than 1 over. But then came the surprise shank from the 18th fairway that sprayed into the trees to his right.<br /><br />His recovery shot, a stinger around a large tree, left him with a 15-foot putt for par but the ball missed to left.<br /><br />The Genesis Invitational is the third signature event of the 2024 season. That means the top 50 players and ties will cut 36 holes. <br /><br />Woods was tied for 55th at the end of round one, eight strokes behind leader Patrick Cantlay.
